Happy Anniversary
by Kayleigh J
Summary: Sarah has been The Goblin King's prisoner for one whole year. Now things are beginning to change. New people are entering the game and Sarah needs to be careful. One wrong move and everything she loves could be taken. Evil Jareth.
1. Part One

****Happy Anniversary****

****Part One****

****DISCLAIMER : I Do Not Own Labyrinth. Do Not Sue Me****

Sarah starred dimly up at the plain grey stone ceiling, a sigh of utter boredom escaping her lips. She would have thought that after all this time, boredom would have been an emotion she could have adapted to, but it seemed that the longer she was here the more insufferable having absolutely nothing to do was.

She shifted, uncomfortable on the small bed, turning to face the rest of her stone prison. The room she had been stuck in for an uncountable number of days had only the barest of necessities. It was small, with two doors and no windows. One door led to a bathroom with meagre essentials, and the other door was locked. Always locked. The only time the door was ever opened was when Jareth came.

The rest of the room was completely empty save from a table and a chair. Sarah had shifted between that and the bed for the whole evening, having completed her daily ritual of exercising as much as she could in the tiny little space. She knew it was important to keep her mind active, if only to strive off the insanity that threatened her well-being with every passing day.

After she had exhausted herself trying to exert all the pent-up frustration and energy, she would bathe, eat the food that magically appeared after each day, and then wait for Jareth to make his appearance. He came every night, or so she supposed. With no window and no clock in her cell, she really had no way of telling how much time had passed. She could have been stuck here for years for all she knew. It felt like it had been forever since she had been outside. Smelled fresh air. Felt the grass between her toes.

And those were only the simplest things she missed. She hadn't seen her family in...

__No__, she thought to herself sternly; __no, you are not going there. Not now.__ Every time she thought of her family the memory of them would reduce her to tears. And she refused to cry, especially since she knew he would be coming soon.

As if triggered by the path of her thoughts, Sarah suddenly heard the resounding boom of the closing of the door down the hallway.

He was here.

She sat up in the bed with another small sigh. __Here we go__, she thought dimly as she removed the thin silk robe from her body – the only piece of clothing she had been permitted to wear in a long time – and moved to the centre of the room. Now completely naked, save for the small metal cuff around her right ankle, she bent down on her knees, hands clasped behind her back, and bowed her head; the position he had taught her was suitable for a slave greeting their master.

She didn't raise her gaze from the floor when she heard his boots echoing on the ground as he approached her prison, nor flinch as the sound of the heavy bolt that kept the door sealed was slid back. The door opened with it's usual menacing clank and in stepped the man who had tormented her every living day for so very long.

She heard him close the door behind him and step nearer until his boots were in her line of vision as she stared at the floor.

She didn't move. She had gotten over the stage of being absolutely terrified of him. Now their nightly meetings were something she regarded as grim necessities. As much a part of her daily routine as brushing her teeth or drinking water. He had forced her so many times that, even if one could never get used to being repetitively violated, she was passed the point of being paralysed with fear.

It was just part of her life now. Her life that was his.

"Good evening precious." He said calmly, raising a hand to run his fingers through her hair.

She didn't raise her head as she replied, "Good evening Your Majesty."

This was a routine she had gone through so many times she would have considered it boring if being in Jareth's presence wasn't so unnerving. She still feared him. But it was more that she simply feared his being rather than what he would do to her. She knew he wouldn't hurt her as long as she behaved, and as reluctant as she had been in the past to co-operate, as the time past she had learned many times that defiance for the sake of defiance wasn't worth the consequences. She couldn't fight him. Not physically at least. He was magic, and a king and she was only human.

Jareth continued running his fingers through her hair, a look of utter contentment on his face as he did so, with one hand he moved to brush her hair from her face, before gently caressing her cheek and finally, grasping her chin. He raised her head to face him, and felt the familiar pang of desire when he stared into her beautiful face. Those startling green eyes, how he wished he would never need look upon anything else. He would be with her all the time if he could, but unfortunately, he was still a king, with the workload to prove it, and so could only make the time to be with her in the evening and sometimes in the mornings if he chose to keep her in his bed overnight. Waking up beside her was pleasant, but it was important to keep her in this room as much as possible. So he always knew she was safe.

Sarah starred up into the face of the Goblin King and schooled her own face into a hard line. She hated it when he looked at her like that. With a sick kind of __fondness__.

With a gentle hand, Jareth ran his fingers up and down Sarah's cheek, and she tried her hardest not to recoil. Him being gentle was sometimes considered worse than him being violent and aggressive, it simply reminded her of the words he so loved to repeat in her ear all the time.

She froze as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Sarah found the contact repulsive but didn't pull away. Every time she had in the past he had hurt her to prove his point. She simply needed to do as she was told, and she would be safe from the pain his wrath inflicted, but nothing seemed to save her from the pain of his affection.

Jareth pulled away from the kiss and stood straight again, his look of adoration making Sarah want to gag. He often told her how much he 'loved' her. And it was disgusting to her that she actually believed he believed that.

The hand that had been gently caressing her hair then applied some force to the back of her head, pushing her forward until her forehead was resting just below his abdomen.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you all day." He told her softly, resuming his stroking, oblivious to the scowl that Sarah was trying her hardest to fight back. He said things like this with absolute sincerity, and it sickened Sarah that he actually believed himself when he said how much he loved her.

This was not love. Not love as she knew it, if you loved someone, you were kind and compassionate and treated them with respect. Jareth... well, Sarah was sure that in his mind, everything he had done to her in the past was just a way of making her understand that she was his. That because he 'loved' her, she was his property to do with as he pleased. Like locking her in a windowless dungeon or beating her when she misbehaved.

She hadn't been beaten in a while, she recalled, and that was only because she had been going out of her way to keep him happy. She hated conceding to him, but the way he hurt her when he was angry... it was simply best to avoid his wrath.

Sarah felt the familiar deep-seated pang of dread as she felt the intensified heat from where her face was pressed against Jareth's abdomen. A tale-tale sign that the king had vanished his clothing.

With the hand in her hair, Jareth pushed Sarah down until she was met with the evidence of his arousal for her. She wanted nothing more than to cringe away from him, but his intent was clear, and she knew what he would do if she wasn't completely submissive and compliant with him. She obligingly opened her mouth as he gently slid himself inside and held more tightly to the back of her head just in case.

Jareth groaned in delight as Sarah began to suck him. Sarah always felt disgusted when he forced her to do this. There was nothing more degrading and humiliating in her mind then to be used in such a way, no matter how much __practise__ he had given her, she still could not help but fully loath herself when forced to do something so vile with her mouth.

"There's a reason I haven't been able to stop thinking of you precious." She heard him mumble in a dreamy voice, clear evidence that he was enjoying what she was doing to him.

"Not that you're not always far from my mind, simply that tomorrow is a very special day. Do you by any chance know why precious thing?" He asked, staring down at his beloved little Sarah as she continued to pleasure him in an euphoric way.

Sarah didn't know what he was talking about, but knew it was probably a rhetorical question considering he was the one making use of her mouth.

"Tomorrow is our anniversary darling. It will be one year ago tomorrow that I was able to claim you as my own, and I think that makes tomorrow very special. Don't you?"

Sarah froze. One year. One year? Had it really been a year? Jareth had returned her to the Underground on her eighteenth birthday. He had explained that the peach she had eaten had bound her to this world and to him, as the very magic he used in the peach was still flowing through her veins even after three years back in her own world. Apparently her age was the only thing that had guaranteed her return after she had bested his labyrinth; she had simply been too young, the magic of the peach not in sync with the maturity of her body. But once she came of age, the magic invoked itself and therefore gave Jareth the right to force her right back into the clutches of the labyrinth and it's King. And he had been as ecstatic as she had been scared and miserable. Her first few weeks back here were sheer hell, especially after the way she had left the last time. Apparently Jareth did not take well to being beaten, or being rejected, and after he had taken her back he had taken great pleasure in making her understand that she was now his. Forever. Those first few weeks were a raging storm of pain and tears as Jareth had stripped her, chained her to his bed and raped her repeatedly.

It was horrific to say the least. And the horror of those first few nights would forever be branded in her memory as every time he had taken her since, she re-lived the night he had aggressively taken her the first time.

Of course, after a while he had eventually released her, and brought her here. Into this cell, where she had spent most of her time ever since. But she had never had one single night of peace after then, and now with Jareth's revelation, she concluded that he had been raping her and keeping her prisoner for one whole year. 365 days and nights of torture and torment, followed by his whispered confessions of love. Confessions she was forced to repeat unless she wanted to be whipped until she bled, which had happened on numerous occasions in the past.

With a silent gasp, Sarah realised that meant tomorrow would be her nineteenth birthday. Nineteen and her life was already over.

With a sharp thrust, Jareth brought Sarah out of her depression as he pushed himself to the back of her throat, gagging her and reminding her he did not give her permission to stop.

She continued her administrations and after a while Jareth began to groan again. She was only half paying attention. She deliberately fought back tears that threatened to spill at any moment. Crying in front of him wasn't an option. She hadn't cried before him in ages and she didn't plan of giving him that satisfaction now. Even though not crying was one of his many rules, she knew he'd revel in such a defeat.

Jareth started to shudder as his lovely little Sarah brought him to climax. He released the stresses of the day into his beloveds' mouth, and kept a tight hold on the back of her head, forcing her to swallow.

Sarah turned her gaze to the ground as her face twisted in disgust. The taste of him still repulsed her, but it wouldn't do any good to show him that. He pulled himself out of her with a contented sigh, and then dropped to his knees and embraced her in his arms. Within seconds, Sarah felt warmth under her bare legs and knew that he had transported them to his bedchamber. The bed in her cell was barely big enough to hold her let alone him, so it made sense that whenever he took advantage of her body; he took her to his enormous oversized monster of a bed.

Sarah's gaze immediately turned to the window, the only time she ever saw the sky was when Jareth took her here. She hadn't been outside in what felt like aeons.

With his usual forceful gentleness, Jareth used his weight in the embrace to force Sarah on her back, and placed a small kiss on her neck before pulling up to stare down at her.

Instantly light appeared in the room, it was soft and sensual, the candles around the room flickering to life at Jareth's command.

He looked down at her, and was filled with a lust that he knew would never be sated. The sight of her, naked upon his bed was almost more then he could stand. If he could, he'd keep her this way forever.

Silently, he bent to kiss her again on the lips. This kiss was more demanding, his tongue insistent on entering her mouth. She had no choice but to return the kiss. She knew if she ever had a chance of a future that was a little less miserable then it was now, she had to make him happy. Make him trust her. It was a sick, twisted game. But she had no choice but to play. He controlled everything, and her life was no exception.

To her horror, she felt a silent tear slide down her face. She was so lost in her own self pity she didn't even have the sense to bite back the stinging in her eyes as yet another treacherous tear fell.

Jareth, feeling the wet against his own face, drew back and stared down at the watery eyes of his obsession. He simply adored those eyes, but she knew how much he hated tears. He reached forward with his hand and caught an escaping tear on his thumb. Then brushed his wet thumb against her left nipple, making her shudder at the contact. Without saying a word, he lowered his mouth to her nipple and began to suck at the salty wetness and the gasp that escaped his beautiful prisoner was more than satisfying. With the tip hardened under his touch, he gently bit, eliciting a small moan from Sarah's lips. A moan of both pain and pleasure. Something she hated was how easily her body responded to him. She hated him. Hated his touch. Hated that he could make her body betray her so effectively.

Finally pulling back, he looked down at Sarah with disapproval and exclaimed, "Sarah. You know how much I hate to see tears. And on the night before our anniversary, you should be happy." He sighed dramatically, running his thumb back over her damp cheek before sucking the saltiness away.

Then, lifting himself off her, he moved to the centre of his bed and sat up, his back resting on the dozens of pillows pushed up against the beds frame. Sarah sat up slowly, watching his movements tentatively, waiting for what he might do. He turned to her, a small, contemplative smile playing on his lips before he patted his knee lightly and said, "Lie across my lap."

Sarah froze, she knew this move all too well; this was his lighter punishments for subtle acts of disobedience. Obviously she didn't mean to cry, but he never let her get away with anything.

When she hesitated, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and he said, in an eerily calm voice that chilled Sarah's blood, "Do not make me tell you twice."

A small shiver went down her spine as she reluctantly crawled towards him and dutifully laid her stomach across his knees. She folded her arms and rested her chin on them, her legs elevated slightly at the knees. Jareth ran a gentle hand down the length of her back, resting on her bottom. He lightly caressed her there. Pinching and teasing the skin. He so hated having to leave marks on such a gorgeous work of art, but there was no helping it. She had broken a rule, unintentionally or not, she knew how much he hated to see tears, and she would need to be reprimanded for it, if only a little.

With a flick of his wrist, a small wooden paddle suddenly appeared, and he rubbed the wood fondly over her rear before drawing his hand back and smacking her with it.

Sarah had waited with bated breath as Jareth touched her, fondling her and wanted nothing more than to squirm away. The only question running through her head now was, __would he use the paddle or the riding crop?__ The leather of the crop hurt more when it struck, it stung, but he had always used that for harsher crimes, like when she had made him repeat an order more than once. She had fought him in every way when she first got here, but pain had taught her to behave as nothing else would. Pain and fear; it was all she knew now. That, and excessive boredom.

She suddenly felt something else slide across her rear, something smooth and oddly warm and thought, __paddle__, before she felt the first blow strike her, propelling her forward on his lap. A choked gasp escaped her lips as the pain of the blow registered. The paddle was more of a blunt pain, easier to handle then the riding crop, but still hurt none the less.

She felt the warmth of his breath at her back as he bent down and kissed the small of her back, before pulling her back into position and using his paddle-less hand to hold her down.

"I don't like tears pet. No matter what. And when I don't like something I expect it not to be so rudely in my plain of sight. Do you understand?" He asked her calmly, gently, patiently as though he were scolding a child who he knew didn't know any better.

"Yes Your Majesty." Sarah responded in a monotone, trying to force said offending tears out of her eyes as another loud smack ran across the room. She bit her lip to keep the grunt of pain from escaping into a yelp.

"Good girl pet. I do so hate to train you with harsher methods; my only wish is that you do as I say. I know you understand that you need never fear me as long as you obey me completely. Don't you precious?" He asked tenderly.

She took in a deep ragged breath and responded with her usual, "Yes Your Majesty." Her eyes smarting with fresh tears at the emotional humiliation rather than the physical pain. Train her. Like she was a dog. Well, he did call her 'pet' a lot, that was probably all he considered her. Just a toy to dress up and play with. No matter how long she had known this, the knowledge that her life was no longer in her control in any way made every moment difficult. She ate what he wanted, wore what he wanted and did what he wanted. He was the only being Sarah had any contact with in a long time. He was the centre of her universe. Just the way he wanted.

He continued to hit her with the paddle sharply and precisely until the lightest sign of bruises began to form, before disappearing it into the ether and bending down to kiss at the blossoming red lightly.

He gently pulled her from his lap and laid her down on the bed, still on her stomach. Sarah was grateful for the chance to bury her face in pillows and wipe any residual tears away. Although her ass stung like a bitch, that was nothing to the beatings she took when he was truly upset or angry with her.

She forced herself to be compliant. To dismiss the pain and take comfort in the fact that it would numb itself out eventually.

Jareth straddled her back, and pulling her hair away from her neck, he placed a chaste kiss at her nape before trailing down to kiss his way down her spine.

She was skinnier now than when she arrived. He didn't necessarily __starve__ her, merely gave her enough in her three daily meals to keep her energy up. The food was always simple and back to missing the little things - she was at least thankful he didn't let her wither away to nothing – but she did miss indulging in food as well. She received fruit – mainly peaches – often. Then there would be bread and cheese from time to time. Once in a blue moon she would get a full meal, mostly some form of roast that she was always pathetically excited about. You didn't know how much you missed real food until your diet was at the whim of a psychotic nut job.

Jareth continued to kiss his way down her back, marvelling in the soft texture of her skin. __God she's perfect__, he thought, as he kissed her rear before pulling himself up and positioning himself between her legs, __and all mine__.

Slowly, he began to penetrate her from behind. Sarah stifled a whimper into the pillows, feeling him slowly filling her up.

Jareth let out a groan when he was inside her as far as he could go. They fit so perfectly together. He had been alive for hundreds of years, had countless women, but no one made him feel like Sarah did.

He pulled himself out and pushed in again, loving her feel. He buried his face in her hair as he pushed and pulled, thrusting himself in as deep as he could go, loving every single second.

He felt his Sarah shudder beneath him and smiled, placing a kiss on the back of her jaw.

Sarah didn't know how long he rocked them back and forth until he shuddered hitting his climax. It was easier to block him out when she didn't have to look at him. When they were face to face, with him staring down at her, she could never break eye contact. Therefore she had to look as though she was enjoying it to. Her body may respond to his attentions, but sex was different. She hated being violated, her body knew this and so it fought the passive pleasure that came all too naturally.

Jareth shuddered as he hit his climax, and then collapsed onto Sarah, burying his face in the side of her neck.

He pulled out of her and gently flipped her over, Sarah had been expecting this, and so had schooled her face into a smile.

She didn't know if he cared if it was real or not, but she had at least had enough practise in giving him smiles.

He smiled back contently, and then moved away from her again, only long enough to lie on his back before reaching out and pulling her into his arms, resting her cheek on his chest, half her body lying on him and her legs lying on the mattress.

"I have a very special day planned for us tomorrow pet." He said after a while, Sarah felt the rumbling of his speech through his chest. She didn't like these 'intimate' moments. Though she told herself she should be grateful that his dominant sexual urges were mostly gentle and not rough and harsh, it seemed an incredibly sad thing to be grateful for. What a sad little life she had indeed.

"It was almost torture not being with you today, I was so excited. Tomorrow, I don't plan on letting you out of my sight for a single second. You will spend the day with me, and come tomorrow night, I have a very big surprise for you."

Sarah internally groaned. The whole day? The whole day in his company? And here she was half hoping to be returned to her cell by the end of the night. As much as she hated her cell, it beat being around him all the time.

He had done this a few times since she'd been here, and every time was more humiliating then the last. One time it had been a particularly hot day, so he had dressed her in a very revealing bikini that covered barely anything and made her fan him and feed him fruit while he sat on his throne and listened to his subjects – mostly goblins – complain about this or that. Another time he had had a meeting with some other Fae, and during this meeting he somehow deemed it appropriate to force her to suck him while he spoke casually to the men of his court, who spoke just as casually back, as though there wasn't a half naked human giving their king a blow job right in front of them.

Fae were sexual beings, this she knew. But that had been gross.

Soft, gentle hands lifted Sarah's chin to meet the gaze of her captor. If she said very little, and did very little, she knew she could avoid getting herself into trouble.

The fingers ran over her chin again, and the content, almost sleepy face of the Goblin King whispered, "Kiss me precious."

Sarah closed her eyes for a fraction of a second before lifting herself closer and placing her mouth over his. It was difficult to kiss him as though she meant it, but every time it didn't take him long to reciprocate and then take over.

They kissed for a while, Sarah trying her damnedest to fight the instinct that told her to __get the fuck away from him__. The kiss only broke when he decided. Eventually he allowed them both to pull back for air and again that look of absolute adoration came over his features; like she was the most important thing in the world to him.

Jareth's hands travelled down and gripped her waist gently hoisting her up over him, so she was straddling him. She looked down at him, trying to hide how wary she was when he reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Tell me you love me." He ordered, his hands on her hips gently pushing her back so she rested just above his member.

"I love you." Sarah responded, calling on her experience and her past life's ambition to become an actress like her mother to make it believable.

He thrust up inside her, keeping her still with his hands on her hips. Sarah closed her eyes at the feel of him again, and let out a moan at how disgustingly good it felt physically.

"Tell me you want me." He ordered again, groaning as he ground himself into her.

"I want you." She repeated breathlessly, grounding on him the way she knew he liked it.

He started to increase his speed, and with her on top it meant that she had to do most of the work. It was harder to reciprocate other than simply lie down and take it, but she did it. For the sake of her own skin she did it.

They both began to pant as both reached their climax, Sarah forcing her body to surrender to the feeling knowing he was watching her like a hawk. __Three__. She counted silently in her head as they both shuddered violently in the aftermath.

Landing on top of him, both of them dripping in sweat now, she counted three. She had brought him to climax three times since the night began. On a normal night he didn't stop until he had experienced at least three. He needed to be completely spent before he slept, she knew, or he'd be restless, and come and find her at outrageous hours of the morning so she could relieve him.

This did not feel like a normal night however, and although she already felt exhausted, she was human. He was Fae, and as such had a much higher stamina.

Stroking her hair as their heart rates died down, he murmured happily dazed, "Who do you belong to pet?"

Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat, "You." She replied simply.

"Say it." He ordered, tipping her head up so her gaze met his.

"I belong to you." She whispered, feeling herself die inside. No matter how many times he forced this reply out of her, it still felt like she was being defeated each and every time.

The memory of her hanging from the ground from metal cuffs attached to the ceiling, her voice spent from screaming in agony as Jareth swung the whip violently against her back, causing the skin to tear and her blood to pool to the floor, flashed in her mind.

He had ordered her to tell him she belonged to him, and every night she refused, he'd violently savage her body in the chains of his dungeon before whipping her bloody.

She didn't know how long she hung there; exhausted, in pain, her back aching, her shoulders screaming protests against the cuffs. She hung limply every night until she just couldn't take it anymore. That had been a few days after she had been unchained from his bed; it seemed he was determined to break her every way he knew how.

After that, she had only ended up in those chains twice since; once when she had refused to suck him for the first time, and the other after her escape attempt.

She roughly pushed the memory away. No, she would not think about that. If anything could have left her more emotionally battered, it would be the memory of her failure to escape, and the consequences she had faced when he caught her.

He sighed with happiness, before gently disengaging himself from her and standing up. He reached a hand out to her, and she took it, swinging her legs off the bed, and wondering what he was going to do.

The question was answered when he led her into his bathroom, his bathroom was large and the height of luxury, with a bath the size of a small swimming pool etched into the floor. With a flick of his wrist, the bath suddenly filled with steaming hot water, the scent of peaches filling Sarah's nostrils tantalisingly. Despite her company, she let out a sigh of relief and utter bliss when he pulled her into the hot water. Her bath only ran cold; just one more thing he controlled.

He began to bathe her, washing her hair and running sweet smelling oils all over her skin. Once he was done she was forced to do the same, and then they both stepped from the tub, oiled and dripping wet. She stood obediently spread out as he dried her. She didn't know why he enjoyed doing this so much, but she had at least gotten used to hardly ever being clothed in his presence.

Once she was dry he said, "Wait here, I've a surprise for you in my room," before disappearing through the door. She didn't know how to feel about this. She had kept him happy tonight, so this surprise couldn't be too bad. Normally his surprises were just further displays of his dominance. Like the time he had surprised her with an expensive pearl necklace that he made her wear when he took her sometimes, or the surprise of her 'own room' after she had finally been released from the chains in the dungeons.

He came back after only a few minutes, holding out his hand for her to take. She did, and then followed him back into his room.

When they entered, she knew immediately what his 'surprise' was. It was a cage. It was small, very small, shaped like a bird cage, sitting quietly at the foot of his bed. Silently Jareth pulled Sarah towards it, then bent down and opened the cage door, gesturing for Sarah to enter.

Sarah got down on her hands and knees and crawled into the small cage. It was barely big enough for her. She had to hold her back straight against the bars and pull her legs up tightly to her chest to fit inside. Jareth, looking extremely satisfied at the sight before him, closed the cage door, and with a wave of his hand, the door disappeared as though it were never there, moulding itself with the rest of the cage.

Another flick of his wrist, and a chain connected to the metal cuff on her foot suddenly appeared and Jareth took it and wrapped it around one of the bars before securing it with a padlock and stepping back to admire the effect.

He felt a pang of desire seeing her that way; naked, chained and caged. All so willingly. Completely submissive. Despite being quite tired, he had to fight down the urge to remove her from the cage and take her again, instead he used his magic to slowly elevate the cage from the ground, and swung it around so she was facing his bed. Satisfied he got under his covers, wished her a 'good night' and blew Sarah a kiss before the lights went out.

Sarah sat uncomfortably in the cage for hours after the Goblin King had fallen asleep. She thought it was probably his intent to make sure she couldn't get much sleep. She was cramped and uncomfortable and her legs and back were dying for some kind of movement.

He had never put her in a cage before. Not one with bars at least. She of course considered this whole castle a cage, but this tiny little thing was new.

In the late hours of night Sarah began to drift into an uncomfortable sleep, cramped as she was but also completely exhausted. Her head would drop forward onto her knees repetitively as she forced herself to relax; trying desperately to not worry about what the next day might bring.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah awoke several hours later to the sounds of movement. Her sleep had been brief and uncomfortable, but she was grateful she had at least achieved some rest, knowing she would probably need it for the day ahead.

She opened her sore groggy eyes to the sight of the Goblin King conversing with a goblin who had a tray in his hands. The goblin left the tray on a small dining table, bowed to his king and left. None of his goblins ever dared cast gaze at her, she was the property of their king and therefore his alone to look at, though sometimes she could have sworn she saw looks of sympathy on some of the goblins she crossed paths with.

The Goblin King, in nothing but a robe, lifted the platter to reveal a large array of different breakfast foods. He picked a peach from the platter and sank his teeth in, artfully keeping the juices from spilling everywhere. Sarah felt her mouth water; she very rarely got to eat real food these days.

As if sensing her gaze, Jareth turned, and smiled when he saw his Sarah awake and watching him. With casual movements, he approached the cage which was still floating in the air, just high enough so that she was eye level with him. He stretched out his peach-less hand, and the cage stretched its bars to accommodate him. He reached in and ran his fingers down her bare legs, still tightly squished against her chest, before gently pulling her legs away from her chest. The relief of movement was instantaneous as the cage bars continued to stretch until there was no front. Jareth, his hand sneaking up her thighs, pulled her closer until her legs were wrapped around his back. Then running his fingers up her back, sending tingles through Sarah's whole body, his hand stopped in her hair, tangling in and coaxing her forward into a kiss.

It was a light kiss and Sarah responded, he was probably going to be doing this a lot today, might as well get used to it.

When Jareth pulled back his smile was of blissful serenity and Sarah plastered a mirrored smile on her face, hoping it didn't look too strained.

"Your lips are far tastier than any fruit my dear." He purred, and brought the peach back to his lips, sinking his teeth in again.

Sarah put her head back and stretched out a kink that had formed in her neck overnight, then ran her shoulders in small circles trying to massage out the tension. Jareth put the hand not holding the peach back into her hair and pulled her forward again, he then held the peach out for her, and she obediently sunk her teeth into the fruit. The taste was blissful, although she had all but gotten sick of peaches; she was very hungry, and dehydrated from being awake for most of the night. The second she swallowed, he was there again, kissing and licking the lingering juices from her lips. When he pulled away the second time, the peach was gone, and with a wave of his hand, the padlock keeping her chained to the cage fell to the floor with a clank. Placing both hands under her bottom, Jareth lifted her out of the cage and towards the bed. He deposited her there, and then connected the chain to his bed before climbing atop her and stealing another kiss.

God this was unbearable, the day had barely begun and already she couldn't stand his company.

And he was only getting started, no doubt he planned on screwing her as much as possible today, and she could only hope that her poor body could be granted some reprieve as the day wore on.

With her laid out on the bed, Jareth crawled up the length of her and immediately attached himself to her breasts, licking and sucking and twirling his tongue over the peaking nipples.

Sarah hid her discomfort as Jareth's hands found her wrists and raised them high above her head, within seconds, Sarah heard a click, and looked up to see her hands bound to the bed with metal cuffs. She looked at him, not able to hide the worry in her eyes, and Jareth smiled back down at her, kissing her forehead before lifting himself off her and heading towards the table of food. He returned with a tray of different fruit, strawberries and kiwi and more peaches. Placing the fruit on the bed beside them, he climbed back on top of Sarah, an amused smirk on his lips.

"You are to enticing for your own good pet, it seems that I'm about to make the bath we shared rather nought. By the end of this hour, __you__ are going to be completely bathed in __me__." He purred seductively, plucking one of the strawberries off the tray and putting it to Sarah's lips. She bit into it, becoming increasingly nervous but co-operating none the less. Jareth took the rest of the ripe fruit and trailed it down her body, leaving a fine streak of red juice from the centre of her breasts to the top of her belly button. Once all the juice had been extracted, he popped the rest in his mouth before licking and sucking the juice from her skin. This went on for a while, him cutting fruit, feeding pieces to her, and then feeding himself with the juices flowing from her body. By the end of the hour, true to his word, every single inch of Sarah was covered in the smell of fruit and Jareth's saliva. Though the whole process had made Sarah thoroughly uncomfortable, her private area was pulsing with an ache that not even her deep seated hatred for the man who was on top of her could quell. There was no doubt that he knew what he was doing, and he knew how to please a woman. Even a woman being held against her will.

Finally, when all of the fruit on the tray had been used, Jareth kissed his way down Sarah's thighs until he found the evidence of Sarah's reluctant arousal.

Spreading her legs wide, he slipped his tongue into her folds, making Sarah jump, but he held her down as he massaged her insides with his tongue. She moaned, reacting to her body's need rather than her minds disgust. Jareth began to pleasure her there until her hips began to buck, her vision blurred as he brought her to orgasm, and she shuddered, collapsing on the bed, shaking in the aftershock.

Jareth chuckled, licking his lips, loving the taste of her. He raised himself up and whispered in her ear suggestively, "I'll have to share breakfast with you more often love; I don't think I've ever found a meal that satisfying before."

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

After 'breakfast' Jareth allowed Sarah to go to the bathroom while he dressed, wearing a white poets shirt and grey pants, with his usual black leather gloves and boots. Once he was dressed he transported them both into his office. Sarah was a little mortified that he didn't give her anything to wear, since being unclothed outside his chamber or her cell always made her feel uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything. No speaking unless spoken to was a good way of staying out of trouble. He led her to a chair seated opposite his desk and gently pushed her down, then with a wave of his hand the chain connected to the cuff on her ankle found itself connected to a bolt in his desk that had not been there moments before. She silently wondered why he bothered with the chain, it was not as though she could go anywhere, least of all while he was watching over her, but then she figured it was probably some kind of power play on his part, he had placed the metal cuff on her ankle the very night she returned and she had not been free of it since. He was always ready to summon the thin yet unbreakable chain to tie her to things, despite the fact that it was somewhat pointless. She figured it just turned him on to see her in chains.

Sarah raised her knees on the chair and hugged into herself, the stiffness of her joints thoroughly loosened after the mornings activities. She was modest by nature, and hated feeling like she was on display.

Jareth seated himself behind his desk and busied himself with paperwork, his gaze drifting every so often to his lovely little captive, holding herself so charmingly upon his chair. He had been right to keep her with him, though she was surely a distraction, it was soothing to have her present at all times, even whilst doing something as tedious as paperwork. Over the course of the next few hours he occupied himself with work while Sarah sunk into her own mind, wallowing in the boredom she had come to expect as much as Jareth's presence.

Several goblins knocked on the door to deliver papers and such over the time, and once again none of them dared cast their eyes at Sarah. Jareth had expressly forbade them from direct contact with her a while ago; he was the only one that got to speak to her, the only one who would ever converse with her or enjoy her company or her body. She was completely reliant on him for everything; just the way he wanted it.

After the mountain of paperwork was finally complete, he leaned back in his chair, contemplating the day ahead. He planned on making it special and memorable. She had been such a good girl lately, excusing her little slip up last night. He could forgive a few tears, knowing she was probably only crying out of surprise for the meaningfulness of the day. She was after all, a year older, despite the fact that she hadn't technically aged a day since the moment she got here; he knew she now saw herself as nineteen. It was her birthday, after all, and since she had been extremely well behaved of late, he planned on rewarding her for it. The best way he knew how.

With a wave of his hand, her chain was suddenly in his grasp once more, and he gently tugged, pulling Sarah out of her thoughts as she felt the sudden pull of her foot. She looked at him as he waged his finger, beckoning her forward. She rose from her chair and strolled over to him. He pulled her down on his lap and wrapped his arms around her, inhaling deeply. He smiled; she still smelled of peaches.

Quietly he removed his gloves, and travelled his hands down to her breasts, gripping and teasing the flesh there. Oh how he loved her body, every single part of her was amazing, he was suddenly filled with the urge to throw her down on his desk and ravage her completely, but restrained himself. There was plenty of time for that later today, right now he was simply content to hold her and touch her, and feel her skin with his own.

Sarah hated her body's reaction to his touches. It made her furious with herself for enjoying his attentions when she knew full well that if he were to drop dead at this very second she would waste no time in dancing on his grave. Still, she leaned back against him, no sense trying to fight him; it never ended well for her. Both his hands kneaded her breasts, pulling her more tightly into his chest, he groaned in satisfaction. Yes, having her with him all day was definitely an improvement. He would have to start doing this more often.

The more he touched her, the more he was painfully aware of his arousal for her. He turned her face towards his own and kissed her deeply, relishing in her responsiveness, feeling her need against his. When he pulled back, his manhood was throbbing, it was never easy to quell whenever she was around.

Gripping a hand in her hair, he pulled her back so he could stare in her eyes; he felt another sharp pang just by gazing into those powerful green orbs, aglow with beauty and an innocence that he found charming.

"Kiss me pet." He whispered, and Sarah leaned forward, preparing to initiate a kiss, but he stopped her, his fingers on her lips, he shook his head. A smirk formed on his face at her confused expression.

"No pet. __Kiss__ me." He specified, before taking her hand in his and leading it down to feel what she was doing to him.

Sarah took a deep breath as she took in his meaning. Disengaging herself from his lap, she knelt before him, her hands finding the buttons of his pants, slowly unfastening his breeches with slightly trembling hands.

He lifted himself up off the chair to give her better access, true he could have just vanished his pants until she was finished, but the anticipation was exquisite torture. As Sarah's fingers finally unburdened him, she worked his breeches down to his ankles before leaning forward and placing hot kisses down his length. Jareth moaned in pleasure and delight at her obedience, as Sarah reached his head, taking him in her mouth. She swore she would never get used to this. Jareth groaned as she sucked, and gripped her hair tightly in open pleasure. No one had ever pleased him like Sarah had, even from her first try, knowing full well she had never done such a thing with other men, she was magnificent. She made him feel things he had never felt with any other woman. __Oh yes__, he thought as he began to heave and pant in the build of release, __she most definitely deserves a reward for this.__

As Sarah sucked and pulled at him with her mouth, Jareth became frantic; holding on to her hair tightly, he began thrusting himself up into the back of her throat, making her repetitively choke and gag, but he was too caught up in his own building ecstasy to notice. He thrust his shaft into her mouth mercilessly, so much so that Sarah feared she would run out of air, as it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe through her nose.

"Oh Sarah!" He all but screamed, moving faster and faster, pulling her in even closer with the tight grip on her hair, before releasing wetly into her mouth.

He kept himself inside her as she did her best to swallow and clean up the mess he left behind. He stopped thrusting slowly as he experienced his blinding orgasm. She really was to enticing for her own good. He loosened the grip on her hair, but when he felt her trying to pull away he said, "No, keep it in. I want to feel you."

Sarah almost huffed with annoyance. __Yes__, she thought, __this day is most definitely unbearable. It wasn't even twelve noon yet and already, this day sucked. Literally,__ she thought dimly, as she tried to steady her breathing with his cock still in her mouth.

"You have no idea what you do to me dear girl." He panted, and she raised her gaze to him to see his head thrown back, eyes closed, a contentful expression on his face.

Eventually, his breathing slowed, and then almost casually, he leaned forward and retrieved some papers on his desk, and began reading, still with Sarah's mouth wrapped around his shaft.

Sarah tried to stay motionless as he worked, knowing that if she started to swallow or move at all, he would probably get worked up again. But the audacity of him, my god, that he could just casually resume working on the business of his kingdom with her kneeling before him in such a position.

Soon, Jareth finished his batch of papers, and placed them back on his desk. He looked down, and smirked. The sight of her so tenderly wrapped around him, her eyes veiled in compliance and submission was almost sweet enough to taste.

He began to stroke her hair, again, like she was a dog he was praising for good behaviour. After god knows how long, he used his grip on her hair to pull her away from him, and she breathed in a thankful breath of air, the taste of him lingering unpleasantly on her tongue. He pulled her back onto his lap and squeezed her tightly to him, Sarah didn't know why, but she always felt more vulnerable in his arms when she was the only one not wearing clothes. She guessed because it re-enforced the whole slave/master thing. Clothes were a privilege in Jareth's mind, and when he did allow her clothing, it was always something completely indecent, something she never would have worn in front of anyone back home.

She missed her jeans. It was a strange thought to have, but as Jareth's hand travelled down her nude body to teasingly caress her clit, she figured it was a safer thing to think about missing then anything that would bring her to tears. The picture of her favourite worn blue jeans swam to mind; the same pair she had been wearing when she met him for the first time. She never thought when he flew through her baby brother's window and challenged her to face the labyrinth that he would become so obsessed with her, or that just three years later, he'd make her into a sex slave. Though he never went so far as to __call__ her that, she knew that that was what she was. He used her body until he was tired and then he'd wait thirteen hours to re-charge before he used her all over again.

It was a wonder to her he hadn't ripped her to pieces by now. She wasn't even sure if she wouldn't have welcomed such a release, but despite how bad things got, had gotten, suicide wasn't an option. When Jareth had told her about the consequences of trying to escape, he meant in __any__ way. And the consequences she would face, even if she was dead, she just couldn't risk. So she consented to be his sex slave, giving in to his every whim. She hadn't been severely punished since her escape attempt, because the threat he made that day did everything to keep her behaviour in check.

"What are you thinking of precious?" Jareth whispered in her ear, pulling her once more out of her spiralling depression. She looked at him, and he was watching her for a response. Taking the initiative, she leaned forward and softly placed her lips to his. She could feel his surprise that she had kissed him without an order or permission, but it was only a light kiss, and when Sarah pulled away, she whispered her answer; "You."

Jareth growled, taking her face in both his hands he pressed his lips firmly up against hers in a desperate kiss, and she kissed him back, steeling her resolve. She could be filled with self loathing all she liked, but she knew if she was ever going to scrape any happiness out of this crappy existence of hers, she needed to play his game.

When the kiss finally broke, Jareth began to chuckle, it was a fairly sinister sound, but she knew the difference between him laughing out of cruelty and laughing out of genuine happiness. This was the latter.

Using a finger to place under her chin he raised her gaze to his, his eyes boring into hers with a vivid intensity.

"That was a very good answer precious." He grumbled, his voice low and hoarse. He was pleased.

He wrapped his arms around her again, squeezing her into him so hard she feared being crushed, but he just held her like that, as though he wanted nothing more than to meld their bodies together.

A sharp rapping knock on the door brought Sarah jumping out of her skin, she tried to squirm away but Jareth's arms only tightened around her, making it almost difficult to breathe.

"Enter." He called casually. Sarah buried her face in his chest so as not to look at whomever was about to see her in such a compromising position.

"Your Highness, the Marshland dignitaries have arrived at the gate, they will be escorted to your Throne Room within the next five minutes." Sarah heard someone say from behind them. She thought the voice probably belonged to Jareth's captain of the guard. Of course she had had little interaction with anyone aside from Jareth, but though she had never spoken to anyone but him, she had seen some of his guards and watched Jareth converse with them on occasion.

Jareth let out a long sigh then slowly pushed Sarah up so he could stand. "I had almost forgotten about that." He said, sounding somewhat irritated. Sarah kept her gaze to the ground, fully aware that she was standing completely naked in front of one of Jareth's guards. Even though she knew they would never have the nerve to openly ogle her, he could still see her, and she was still embarrassed.

Jareth felt annoyance at having to see to the dignitaries. They were staying for a two month courtly visit but their meeting was not subject matter he needed overheard. Even though he knew that Sarah was completely loyal to him, he was still reluctant to bring her into his duties as king, preferring only to teach her how to please him as a man.

He watched with fondness as she ducked her head to the ground, still so shy and humble; such endearing traits.

Placing a finger under her chin to raise her gaze to his he said, "Now what am I going to do with you?"

Sarah didn't answer, merely fought down the urge to lower her gaze back to the ground. With only a moment's pause, Jareth suddenly waved his hand and Sarah's chain was connected back to the bolt in his desk. Another second and Sarah found herself dressed in what she assumed was some kind of harem girl get-up. With a tiny spaghetti strapped shirt that was hardly more than a bra with transparent purple fabric, and matching harem pants that smoothly drifted over her legs. Her stomach was completely bare and her breasts were almost falling out. Again, just one more outfit she never would have worn of her own free will.

Jareth looked over her with an appraising lust. She looked so god damn seductive that he cursed the dignitaries for showing up on today of all days, when all he wanted to do was ravage her until she begged for mercy... and maybe a little more after that.

Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her into his chest, running a hand through her hair and gripping it tightly to pull her head up for a kiss.

She tasted his desire on her tongue, and could only be thankful for the dignitaries for whatever small break she may get from his overwhelming company.

After finally breaking the kiss, he ran his now gloved fingers down her cheek again and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I won't be long precious. Be a good girl and wait for me. I'll come back for you soon."

Then he left the room with his guard in tow, leaving Sarah to suck in a thankful breath of relief for the first time that day.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah wasn't sure how long she sat on the chair before the chain around the ankle cuff suddenly melted away. Before she could be more than a little startled, the door to Jareth's office opened. Sarah jumped to her feet when she saw that it was not Jareth at the door, but his captain of the guard. She had seen the captain almost every time Jareth had made her spend the day with him.

The captain was a tall man, in a sombre blue uniform and short dark hair. He stood in the doorway, and snapped his fingers at her. When she didn't move he barked coldly, "The king demands your presence girl, now come."

Sarah hurried to the door at the mention of Jareth's order, but was a little stunned with this turn of events. Never, in the whole year she had been here, had any of Jareth's guards or staff or goblins spoken directly to her. She knew it was Jareth's doing. He was possessive and probably wanted her all to himself, so she could only marvel in the differences of this day as she scurried along after the guard, thankful she was at least wearing something.

The guard led her to the Throne Room, and Sarah was more than a little surprised to see it full of at least twelve men as the guard marched her forward. Jareth was sitting regally on his throne, looking straight at her as she entered; she couldn't help but feel anxious as she registered all the men in the room had fixed their gaze upon her. The guard stopped a few good feet from the throne and bowed at the waist. Sarah, knowing Jareth probably expected a display of subservience, especially before guests, dropped to her knees and bowed her head. At the very least it gave her pause to stare at the floor and contemplate what the hell was going on.

"Your slave Sire." The guard said.

"Thank you Randeen." Jareth replied, and Sarah saw in a perpetual gaze the guard bow again and retreat, leaving Sarah in the middle of the room before the king, his throne and the gawking spectators.

"Rise girl." Jareth commanded, neither harshly nor gently, rather as though he was stating a fact. Of course he was used to having all his commands obeyed, not just by her, but by everyone. Giving orders was second nature.

Sarah got to her feet shakily, resisting the urge to wrap her arms around her body and hide into herself. If Jareth had brought her before strangers, there must be a reason, and she waited with bated breath for that reason to be revealed.

"It seems I find myself in a bothersome position Sarah." Jareth said, his voice dripping with amusement. Sure enough, the smirk on his face was unmistakable. This was not good.

"How may I serve you my lord?" Sarah asked, bowing her head respectfully. He was flaunting her before others on purpose, she concluded, probably to see how far he could push her, how deep her 'devotion' went. She had been making progress lately, she could feel it. He was close to making changes. To yielding something that would make her existence more bearable. She was not about to let this unpredicted turn of events ruin things.

Jareth stood, and strolled leisurely towards her. She stayed still, though the look on his face made her want to retreat, running never got her anywhere.

When he stood but a hair's-breadth away, he lightly caressed the skin above her left breast, making her shudder slightly, before he spoke again.

"It seems I have been an ungracious host to my guests, for I have not provided any evening entertainment for them. And since I have already informed them that I will be occupied for the evening, I feel it's only fair to them that I present them with the reason for such rudeness."

Sarah looked at him confused. Did he want her to apologise for distracting him from his duty of entertaining his guests because he couldn't tear himself away from tormenting her for one night?

"I apologise Your Highness." Sarah said softly, her pride practically non-existent at this point.

Jareth laughed humorously, before tipping her chin up to meet his gaze.

"It's quite all right precious, you're forgiven. However, I do think that you should do something to make it up to our visitors."

Sarah froze, trying her hardest not to tremble. He wouldn't... he wouldn't give her to someone else would he? Sarah knew he was possessive; he didn't even let his servants look at her. Would he really let someone else touch her? Use her body the way he did. The thought that he might made her pale, and she would have been close to retching had Jareth not began to speak again. She made herself focus on what he was saying, using his words to anchor her to the room so she didn't faint.

"Tell me precious... do you dance?"

Sarah's gaze focused on his with a sudden snap. What... did he really just ask her that? Did she dance? What kind of... oh. Now she understood. The outfit... she knew what he wanted.

She had in fact enjoyed dancing in her old life. She had loved moving to different music in her room, though she had never danced in front of anyone, not when everyone's focus was on her. Something told her she was about to do just that. Jareth turned and strolled back to his throne, lazily flinging his leg over an arm, he waved his hand threw the air, and almost at once, calming yet sensual music began to permeate the air. It was a slow and sexual remedy, no singing, just gentle tones made with drums and flutes. Sarah's gaze went around the room, trying to find the source of the music, but all she was met with was the expectant and lustful gazes of the other men. Her gaze returned to the Goblin King as he drawled his command, "Dance."

Sarah... wasn't sure what to do. She had never danced before an audience. She had danced at parties and weddings and such, and she had enjoyed dancing in the privacy of her old bedroom, but never... this. To this kind of music, it was clear the type of dance the Goblin King expected, but whether she could do it was another question.

Closing her eyes, she tried to block out her surroundings, focusing only on the music. With surprisingly little difficulty, she pulled the memory of her old bedroom to the front of her mind, and, still hearing the music, began to sway to its rhythm. Her eyes still closed, she focused on the memory of her bedroom and found that her body moved with ease. She was alone. She was just alone in her room on another Friday night. Her parents were out, Toby was asleep, and she was in a relaxing kind of mood. She twirled and spun, catching herself before she hit her bedroom wall or knocked into her vanity. She swung her arms above her head and teasingly caressed her way down one arm with the other, dragging the hand down slowly through her long hair, down her neck, over the curve of her breasts and down her waist. She dropped herself slowly to the ground with the soothing tunes of the music and writhed on the ground in her dance, as though she was in the mitts of deep passionate love. In her delusion, her delusion that filled her with more peace then she had thought possible, she rose from the ground with the grace of a swan and spun around her room with effortless enticement. She was unaware of the king's lustful gaping, and his awed wondering as to why he had never had her dance for him before. Unaware a high duke of the Marshlands was watching her appraisingly, wondering if the king could be swayed to part with such a stunning jewel for the night. And completely unaware of the gaze of the duke's youngest son, who watched the dark haired beauty move, enchanted, and instantly imagined himself in love with the girl.

When the music lulled slowly to a close, Sarah was dragged back into her dismal reality by the fierce applause she was receiving from Jareth's guests. She stood straight as a line again, the image of her once beloved bedroom stolen on the moments noise, replaced with the pleased and hungry face of the Goblin King.

Sarah quivered under the gaze as the truth of her surroundings finally swam into place. It had been her intention to please him so as to avoid punishment and gain some kind of reward, but that look in his eye... that look told her that her body was going to be abused for hours after this moment, and that was enough to almost bring her back to tears.

The moment passed as soon as it came, and Sarah was once again on her knees before the king, who wanted absolutely nothing more than to pin her down and take her right there on the unforgiving stone floor of his Throne Room, but stilled himself. Not here, before so many witnesses. There would be plenty of time to worship her body later throughout the night.

In the next moment Sarah found herself back in Jareth's chambers, naked, her chain connected to the bedpost. She didn't have to wait long before he was there beside her, crushing her body underneath his own. Sarah felt fear at the intensity of the lust emanating from him, but whether he noticed or not, he made no move to stop. Without ceremony, he thrust himself inside her, beating into her so hard and rough that Sarah was forced to reciprocate simply to keep him from beating her to pieces. He swallowed her cries of pain with his lips and moved them over hers with a savagery she hadn't been subjected to in quite a while. She knew she would have bruises tomorrow. That she would be sore and incapable of walking properly; Jareth always had the power to do that to her.

He took her more than once, and distantly Sarah noticed that, though he had began claiming her body while the sun still shone, the sky was sparked with bright orange and soft purple by the time he gave her one final thrust and pulled himself out. Sarah grunted in relief, already feeling the urge to curl into a ball and hold herself, much as she had done the first time, because of the stabbing pain in between her legs.

Jareth, of course, wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in close. He was aware that he had been rough with her, and that she would probably be sore, but he cared very little for it at that moment. He knew the specialness of the day would ignite something between them. He remembered every single second of the first time he had ever taken her. She had been reluctant back then; stubborn, prideful, kicking and scratching and pushing at him... to no avail. He knew he would have her and so he had, and oh how she had cried. She had cried many times at first, but he allowed himself to forgive his cruelty. He had been denied what was rightfully his to take for three years, and he was not a patient man. She had learned though. He had taught her the pleasure to be had if only she stopped fighting him. And she had eventually stopped fighting. He had broken her – as was his intention – and moulded the pieces back together to fit his liking. Now she was exactly what he wanted her to be. She had fire and spirit but it was carefully contained within her submission. He would not accept disobedience, but he would surely die if that spark ever truly vanished from her eyes.

He lay with her in his arms for a time, watching as the sky darkened until it was nothing but black. He had lost count of how many times he had taken her, but if the sun had set during their engagement, they must have been at it for at least three hours. He smiled sleepily and looked down at his most precious possession.

She was still awake, her breathing had returned to normal as his had, and she was exhausted and in pain, but she was too scared to let sleep claim her. The brutality of his actions, at the anniversary of the night he had stolen her virginity, had frozen Sarah into something similar to catatonia. She had not had one single orgasm that night, although Jareth didn't seem to notice. His appetite was insatiable. She knew that no matter how much she gave, he would always want to take more.

She instinctively froze when she felt his hand slither down to her most intimate place, and felt his fingers stroking over her.

__He couldn't want to go again could he? My god, when will this nightmare end!__

"Did I hurt you precious?" He whispered, still tenderly stroking her. Sarah, like so many other times, over analysed everything in his question. His words, his tone, his volume. It was something she had learned to do to come up with the best response. A response that would please him and keep her safe. Several possible answers flashed through her mind at the speed of light, but she settled for...

"I'm just a little sore."

Jareth lightly removed her from his arms and rolled her on her back, and then smiling slightly in the darkness, he lowered himself down between her legs and began to kiss at her there.

He was healing her, she knew. She had experienced his healing powers many times before.

As soon as his tongue found itself inside her the pain in her abdomen ceased, and her muscles in her legs and stomach began to relax. Soon small inserts of pleasure began to hit her and she allowed the feeling to claim her, knowing he wanted to make up for the pain he had caused.

Once she too was completely spent, he pulled her back into his arms and cuddled her close, inhaling deeply into her hair; she was too exhausted to even notice.

They fell asleep together for a while, and when Sarah woke, she heard Jareth moving around. She raised herself from the bed to stare at his back as he was dressing, and when he turned to face her, he smiled, and moved towards her for a kiss.

"I'm sorry I woke you precious, but unfortunately I must go and eat supper with the Marshland dignitaries. It's only common courtesy."

He stroked her hair, and then waved his hand over the bed. Instantly the rumpled covers were straightened around her, and in the next second, a platter of fruit appeared beside her.

It wasn't until then that she realised how very hungry she was, as she hadn't eaten anything since those few bites of fruit at breakfast. Without thinking she reached forward and plucked a strawberry from the platter. She gave a satisfied groan as she bit into the fruit and Jareth smirked. "Mmm... I'm almost jealous."

Moving forward to kiss the juices from her mouth he then straightened and headed towards the door, looking back he said, "I'll be back after the court meal is over, and then you will receive your surprise. I know you're going to love it."

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Once again Sarah was left alone for hours; she made use of the bathroom, taking an excruciating long bath. She had learned a while ago that the magical chain around her ankle only restricted her to places Jareth did not want her to go, therefore despite still being chained to the bed, she could wonder aimlessly around the room and bathroom, but only felt the tug of the chain if she went anywhere near the door leading outside. She bathed for a while, thankful that Jareth had healed her soreness and using the bliss of the hot water to aid in shoving the memory of yet one more torturous night away from her; it wouldn't do for her face to be tear stained when Jareth returned. Once she was bathed and dried she returned to the bed, the chain automatically shrinking to accommodate her actions.

While she ate her way through the rest of the food she contemplated what his 'surprise' really was. She had been well behaved for a long time. Though she had little sense of time, as the days seemed to bleed together, she did know that she had done whatever it took to please him after her failed escape attempt. After That Night, she had never told him no, never struggled in his embrace, never retreated as he stepped closer, and after a while his cruel satisfaction had turned into a kind of contentful yearning. Perhaps he even convinced himself that she loved him to - although she was resolute to the fact that he did __not__ love her, perhaps she had simply been spoiled for love in her old life Aboveground. He didn't love her, not the way humans love, but he wasn't human. He was the Goblin King. A powerful, ancient, mystical being, and if he really believed that he loved her... well, there was nothing she could do about it. He had her and he was never going to let her go. She'd be his until her death, a day, she was sad to say, she was somewhat eager for.

So she contemplated the possible surprise, but her mind couldn't churn out anything she thought was likely. What would he do, on such a 'special' day? She couldn't predict his behaviour, he didn't think like a normal person. She had learned to gauge his feelings from subtle mannerisms, but she still knew little about what happened in that head of his.

After silently resigning to await her fate, she moved off the bed and stood before the fireplace. Though she barely noticed anymore, she always found herself quite cold. A consequence of never having proper clothing in a castle made of stone. She sunk down next to the flames, and drenched in its warmth; anything to calm her scattered nerves.

She was lying on her stomach before the flames when he came back, and he wasted no time in sinking down beside her and drawing her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, hiding her reluctance to be held by him. She felt his gloved hands travel down the length of her bare back to rest upon her bottom. She tried not to cringe as he stroked her there. The leather was better than his bare hands but not by much.

"Are you ready for your surprise precious?" He mumbled into her hair, and she merely nodded against him, not trusting herself to speak. He stood and gently pulled her up. With a wave of his hand she was dressed in a sleeveless flirtatious dress that, while stopping at her knees, and barely covering the top of her breasts, was the most clothed she had been since she arrived here the year before.

Without a word, he led her out of his bedroom and down the hall, her ankle chain held unnecessarily in his grasp, the sound of his boots echoing through the stone hallway. They didn't walk far before Jareth stopped at a set of double doors with an intricate vine imprint similar to that of his own bedroom. Silently Jareth placed his hand on the handle and turned it to push the door open, Sarah watching in quiet wariness. Whatever was behind that door would be the big 'surprise' she had no doubt, twenty-four hours of dread had led to this moment. The door pushed open, and what was revealed made Sarah gasp.

It was a bedroom. A beautiful bedroom with colours of bronze and gold and browns and warm cream. While most rooms in the castle had stone flooring and walls, this room looked as though it could belong to a member of royalty Aboveground. The floor was stainless wood of deep brown, and practically every piece of furniture in the room held the same colour and exquisiteness. There was a large bed to the right of the door, with four wooden beams that stretched high to the ceiling to a canopy of gold and silver.

Without realising it, Sarah unconsciously moved into the room. Normally conscious not to let Jareth out of her sight, she all but forgot he was there as she took it all in. The large windows lining the back wall and doors leading out to a large balcony lit with light. A stunning crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling giving deep sensual light over the rest of the room. Sarah took in every detail greedily. The large wooden bookcase packed with books of all sizes was in the left corner, a big table fit for a dining party of four, desks and chairs and sofas and bedside tables. Lamps and luxuries she had not seen outside of Jareth's bedchamber, and she normally paid little attention to his surroundings.

There were two doors on the left wall and Sarah practically bounced to them, to dazed to remember why she should be containing her emotions, and also to happy with blind anticipation to remember she was still in chains. Jareth, however, waved the chain away as he watched her explore indulgently. Exactly the reaction he had wanted.

Sarah threw the first door open to reveal a luxurious bathroom. Much like Jareth's, its tub was large and etched into the ground. With tiles of bronze and deep blue, there were towels and bottles filled with different coloured liquids and lotions. The sink was gorgeous, and over it a massive mirror reflecting the biggest smile Sarah had had on her face since she had first come here. It was looking at her reflection for only a second that caused reality to crash back down with an unceremonious __thump__. It was only after several moments that she realised she too had fallen, and was now sitting on the tiled floor, deep in thought and to surprised by her sudden burst of emotion to contemplate getting up.

Was this it, his 'surprise'? What was it for? Who was it for? Was it hers? Why would he give her a real room if he so enjoyed lording his power of her surroundings over her? After a year in a dungeon cell with no window, why all this at once? These were all questions she knew she had to get up and ask him, but she could barely summon the energy to move her arms where they sat uncomfortably under her weight where she had fallen.

She hadn't allowed herself to feel such a heavy amount of emotion in... What? Half a year? After her failed escape she had practically shut down completely. Knowing she could offer no more resistance to her tormentor, she had sunk low into her mind, as she did whenever he laid claim to her body. She sank. She was there physically but not emotionally. She was still able to think and react and gauge his reactions to her actions but she refused to let herself feel anything. If she ever fell into the full burden of her misery and pain she would surely lose what fragile sanity she still possessed... and then what. She didn't know what Jareth would do if she lost it, but it wasn't really her safety she was mainly concerned for. It was why she never allowed herself to think of her family. She never wanted to remember, but was terrified to forget. She had already lost them, and they her, what was the point in dwelling in the misery. Jareth already offered her enough pain; why look for more?

But it hadn't been misery she had felt just now, it had been joy. Pure, untainted joy, something she had not felt in a long time. The possibility that she may no longer awaken in total darkness, no longer spend day after endless day with only her thoughts for company, no longer live underground, where she never saw the sun, nor heard the birds, nor felt something so simple as natures breeze.

This room held possibilities for a brighter future, and she both revelled and dreaded in the wave of happiness that had given her.

"Why are you on the ground precious?"

His voice brought her swimming back to reality. The reality that he was still here, watching her, moving towards her, helping her stand and wrapping his arms around her waist pulling her back against his chest.

"Do you like it?" He whispered in her ear. Sarah fought hard for some sense of composure. The explosion of emotion she had just freed from its cage needed to be contained before the bars broke.

"What's it for?" She whispered back, shaking slightly in his strong embrace. She felt him chuckle silently, his chest vibrating from behind her as he clenched his grip, almost swallowing her small form with his own.

"Why, it's for you precious thing. All of it. It's been waiting for you for quite awhile and now I have finally deemed this to be the perfect time to bestow it to you." He replied grandly, and kissed her cheek, swaying them slightly back and forth as though in a dance.

"Why now?" She couldn't help but ask. His silence encouraging her to be bold. She needed answers dammit, before she could let herself believe something good was actually happening.

"You've been very well behaved for a long time now Sarah. Do you not feel as though you deserve to be rewarded?" He asked, though the question was somewhat rhetorical, it gave Sarah pause for thought. This was what she had been working towards; making him happy so that she would have less cause to be miserable. This is what she wanted, right? Better circumstances. Better life? __A gilded cage is still a cage__, a little voice in the back of her mind whispered, but she shut that down quickly. She had been trapped in that light-less, airless cell for a year; she'd take happiness anywhere she could get it, even if it came from him.

She turned in his arms and quickly placed her mouth over his before she lost her nerve. He was surprised again, but quickly caught up with her pace. She wanted to show gratitude, he was obviously expecting it, and this was the only way. __Make him believe he's won me over. That I love him, need him, crave him like he seems to crave me, and maybe, just maybe, I won't have to live the rest of forever in darkness.__

__If you're going to play this game Sarah, you better make damn sure you know what you're doing. Don't forget that he's still a monster. Never forget that you're only acting like the victim of Stockholm syndrome, and not actually becoming that victim.__

She pushed the little voice away again, unsure where it had come from all of a sudden. There was no way she would EVER forget what he was, but she could play along, if not to protect herself, then to protect... others.

Finally the kiss broke and she gasped for breath, unaware that she had been running out of air in the intensity of the kiss. She saw with mild satisfaction that Jareth was also fighting to regain control, but after a few moments solid panting, he grinned down at her, and she forced the smile to stay on her face, silently grateful for the acting lessons she had taken when she was fourteen that she was sure made the smile seem that much more genuine.

"I take it this means the answer to my original question is 'yes.'" He asked smugly, running a gloved hand down her cheek. Sarah allowed the smile to drop away in confusion and Jareth chuckled again, re-capturing her parted lips in a light kiss before elaborating.

"You like the room." He stated.

She smiled again. "Yes." She breathed, before letting out a girlish squeal and running back into the room. She hopped happily about, knowing full well he was watching her indulgently, like she was a child opening a Christmas present. Jareth leaned in the bathroom doorway as Sarah opened draws, dipped her toes in the lush carpets, ran her fingers along the spines of books, and spun through the wide open spaces under the watchful eye of Jareth and the stars of the night sky. She went to the second door, and opened it into a closet filled with dresses, shoes and other clothing. She squealed again, touching everything she could. She had clothes! She was actually able to dress herself instead of relying on Jareth for tiny threads of clothing!

She would have delighted in trying everything in her line of vision on. Everything from dresses to nightgowns to riding pants. But she quelled the need to behave like a normal girl in remembrance to the fact that she was still a captive. A slave under her watchful master's eye. She returned to the room, to find he had moved. He was now standing before the bed, almost directly adjacent to the door, leaning back against the wood. She immediately went to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. This time she felt no surprise, and she guessed that had to be a good thing, that it meant he was no longer second-guessing her complete devotion to him.

She felt his hand crawl into her hair and pull her to him tightly, deepening the kiss further.

They made use of Sarah's new bed that night, but this time he was gentle, and Sarah let herself sink again, wanting him to feel appreciated, allowed the primitive pleasure to take her body while keeping her real emotions firmly under control.

When they both were exhausted and lay spent in the new used sheets, Jareth holding Sarah snug in his chest, Sarah allowed sleep to claim her. He trusted her now. She knew it, and she was happy for it. All she had to do was keep it up, and she would be fine.

As the night slowly turned to early morning and the moon and sun began their daily battle for claim to the skies, Jareth looked tenderly into the sleeping face of his love. She was so contentful when sleeping, as if all worries were erased from that pretty little face of hers. The Goblin King leaned forward and placed his lips reverently on her forehead and then dipped his head so he could breathe into her ear; "Happy anniversary precious."


	2. Part Two - Chapter One

****Part Two****

****Chapter One****

For the next week Sarah felt more bliss then she had ever known encased in her stone prison. Waking with the sunlight streaming into the room, bathing in the heat of the sun under the comfortable weight of thick luscious blankets and nice clean sheets is not something Sarah would ever take for granted again. Every morning she would wake to the sound of the birds and the serenity of a large open space and revelled in it. She would go to the balcony each morning, throw the doors open wide and spend several minutes out in the open air. She would then move to the bathroom and bathe for hours in water that never lost an ounce of heat. Once clean, she moved to her closet and happily pondered the dilemma of which dress to wear for the day. By the time she was dressed and her hair was done her breakfast would be ready for her on the large four seater table. She still had fruit, but now she also had the option of pastries and even things such as bacon and eggs. She had over-indulged slightly for the first few days, eating more than her fill and getting slight stomach cramps for it later, but she easily dismissed the small pain; it was worth the cost to pay. She even had tea in the mornings, and gods how she had missed the benefit of caffeine. She happily drank at least three cups of tea before the clock even struck ten, and always out on the balcony, which overlooked the enormity of the labyrinth.

There was a beauty in it; she had to concede, seeing it from such a height, in all its glory. She could not believe she had travelled so far in only thirteen hours. Less than that, considering Jareth had stolen two hours from her when she was in the oubliette.

Of course, something's were still the same; for example, she still lived behind a locked door. The bedroom she was in now could only be accessed by Jareth, and a few goblins that came in every morning to clean and potter around the room. Another thing that was the same was the chain. She was still sanctioned by the silver cuff and its leash, which held her captive to the room via the heavy metal shackle on the bed, but Sarah took little notice of it. As long as she stayed away from the bedroom door, she hardly noticed the chain was there, and it really was just a precaution Jareth had put in place just in case she got any ideas when the goblins came to unlock the door and run around the room changing sheets and replacing odds and ends.

Sarah didn't take the chain to mean he didn't trust her not to run away again, it was, after all, just a precaution.

He still came every night, only now they mostly spent their time in her bed then in his. Sometimes he would materialise them to his room, but she hadn't had the room long enough to distinguish any kind of routine to his actions. His 'lovemaking' was still the same, and Sarah was as compliant and submissive as ever, giving him anything and everything he asked for.

It was even a little easier for Sarah now, knowing she wasn't going to have to wait hours and hours for nothing but him. Now with the luxury of books, she spent hours comfortably submersed in the thoughts and feeling of others.

It made her happier than words could describe that she no longer sat in silence with nothing but her misery for company. Now she could leave her mind for hours at a time and explore the recesses of others minds.

Today would make it seven days since Sarah had been given her new room, and another routine she had impressed upon herself was keeping track of the days. Every morning after the goblins left, she would retrieve a pencil from her desk, roll under the bed with a small lit candle and carve a single straight line into the wood. This line accompanied other small lines and one group with a line going diagonally through it signalling the pass of five days. She thought it was important to know how much time was passing now. Even if it was slightly pointless, since she knew she could never leave, she felt like it was simply the thing to do. Why she felt the urge to keep it concealed, she didn't know, she just... did.

Today Sarah was diving into the world of astronomers. Learning about the stars of the Underground and their meanings. The book was heavy with words and complicated diagrams that probably would have bored the crap out of her in an old life. But now her eyes scanned hungrily over the pages, lapping up their knowledge like a starved kitten for milk. She missed school. She missed learning. Thinking and allowing herself to think of anything but her own life.

When she heard the door open she was quite surprised. Her eyes darted to the door to note that it was indeed Jareth walking through, though why was the question. He never came this early. Her eyes immediately darted to the clock on the wall above the door; it read six-thirty eight. He __was__ early. She immediately stood from her favourite seat near the window. She would have read outside on the balcony but it was far too cold for that today. Winter was coming, she knew. The days were shorter and darker and colder, but nothing could take the pleasure of fresh, clean air away from Sarah's mind.

Jareth immediately moved to the centre of the room, and Sarah watched him tentatively as he smiled at her.

"Sarah," he said, the slightest of edges to his casual tone. "I realise that my visit is perhaps something of a surprise, but I still expect to be formally greeted, rather than simply gaped at."

Sarah let out a small gasp at her forgetfulness. Quickly she rushed to stand before him, before sinking to her knees. Flustered she said, "I'm sorry. Forgive me Your Majesty; this is just such a... pleasant surprise."

A light chuckle and soft, gloved hands found her chin, raising her gaze from the floor to his smiling face.

"It's quite all right Sarah. Though, in future, I would much prefer to be greeted with a kiss then a bow."

Using his grip on her chin he delicately pulled her up, and now standing moved in to place his lips firmly upon her own. She opened up for him, and even raised her arms around his neck expressing the desire to deepen the kiss, so relieved that he wasn't angered by her lack of manners.

__Really?__ She thought as she continued to kiss him with fake passion; __lack of manners not to bow before your captor and rapist? How__... __proper__.

She pushed the little voice away again. That voice, it was getting louder, and honestly she didn't know what to do with it. It definitely sounded like her old self. The old Sarah; stubborn, defiant, fearless. She couldn't be any of those things now, but that voice was still there, uselessly prattling on.

When the kiss broke it took Sarah several seconds to regain composer. Jareth was still smiling, only broader now, which was good, it meant that battling with that intrusive little voice hadn't dampened her performance none.

Figuring she might as well sell it for all it was worth, she let out a little giggle, and reclaimed his lips quickly, giving him only seconds to react before pulling away again, keeping a playful little smile on her face.

He chuckled. A sound of true amusement and happiness.

"My my, we are in a mischievous mood aren't we? And here I was scolding myself for visiting so early instead of seeing to my work. But I see now that I am more intelligent then I give myself credit for." He gushed charmingly, and pulled her into an embrace. She let out another little giggle, and rose amused eyes up into the face of the man she despised, "I do hope you aren't neglecting anything to important to come see me, but... I have to agree on that last part. So intelligent." She praised, stroking his ego with another teasing kiss on his lips.

He let out a low humming purr; she knew he was pleased.

"To enticing for your own good pet. To enticing." He repeated, smelling her hair deeply. He took her left hand in his and waved his right through the air, dismissing the chain around her silver cuff.

"Care to take a walk with me precious?" He asked; though the slight tinge in his voice let her know that saying 'no' would do nothing good.

"I would love to." She replied, with sickly sweet sincerity. She was getting better at faking that.

After insisting she put a coat on over her dress, since the day was chilly, the pair left her room in favour of walking through the halls of the castle. Neither said anything, though Sarah was curious as to where they were walking to she never the less allowed Jareth to pull her through the endless maze of hallways in silence. When at last they reached a set of large, grand double doors, Sarah had to take several deep calming steadying breaths. These doors were exactly like the ones she had rushed through on the night of her failed escape. These doors must lead outside.

Unless she counted the night of her escape - which she did not, because she hardly had time to bask in the open air when she was running for her life - she had not had the pleasure of the outside world for a whole year.

The double doors opened automatically, as though sensing the approach of their king, and Jareth pulled Sarah out into the blinding sunshine of the autumn afternoon.

With her usual effort to push the memory of said night out of the way, she was in somewhat of a dazed state as Jareth led her down the steps and through paths lined with high shrubbery. As caught up in her own mind as she was, she couldn't help feel relief and some excitement that she was outside. Feet on the gravel, wind gently caressing her hair, the smell of grass and flowers and earth permeating the air, which she inhaled with a sleepy kind of bliss.

Jareth of course noted all this behaviour in his most prized possession. She had missed the outside, he knew. It had been necessary to keep her indoors at all times when she first arrived; at least until she learned obedience. But he was confident that she now saw his generosity in the recent freedoms he had given her, and knew she knew them to be a privilege, not a right.

When Jareth reached his intended destination, he stopped. They stood before a large wooden gate surrounded by high shrubs on both sides, Sarah looked at the gate curiously, and then at Jareth, who smiled, and explained.

"These are my favourite gardens; I thought you would like to see them. As I recall, you have quite a fondness for flowers." He said as he opened the gate.

Sarah silently wondered how he would know such a thing, but seconds later those thoughts were wiped clean as she saw what stood behind the wooden gate.

It was glorious. An intricate pebble path dipped and curved around the greenest grass and brightly coloured flowers Sarah had ever seen. A large round fountain stood in the centre of the wide open space, which held trees of which blossoms and rich brown tinted leaves still hung. The fountain depicted a little cupid shooting water from its bow, which splayed in all different directions into the blue water. Sarah moved around the garden in awe, drinking in the scents and sounds and sights like a wet sponge. Jareth watched her fondly as she brushed her fingers delicately over rose petals and bent to inhale deeply. As she skimmed her finger into the slightly ice tinted water, ignoring the shudder of cold in favour of the bliss of temporary freedom. She even bent to gently caress the cute little stepping stones which seemed to have elegant writing engraved in them of languages Sarah did not speak.

Never content to not be holding her for long, Jareth found himself behind her and slid his arms around her waist, bringing her into him. He whispered lightly in her ear, "Do you like it?"

Sarah hummed in approval, "It's beautiful." She sighed, leaning into his embrace, allowing the garden to relax her.

"Yes. It is." He replied and kissed her ear. Sadly though, he could not stay, he did have work to do, lots of it, and only came to her on a whim as he looked out on the garden through his office window. He would leave her here, he resolved, giving her a chance to bask in the rewards of her good behaviour. Placing both hands on her shoulders he turned her to face him and kissed her gently, tasting cinnamon and honey on her tongue as he did.

He reluctantly pulled away with a sigh. He could always return to her later.

"I have work too attend to precious. I trust you can entertain yourself here for a time until I return." He said, not quite a question. Sarah nodded frantically, eager for the chance to be outside alone. Though it was getting easier being around him, her nerves were still on spikes whenever he was near.

He drew her into a hug, before whispering in her ear, "Don't disappoint me."

Sarah hardened in a second, and took in a sharp breath. It was clearly a warning, and the sinister implication it held nearly stopped her heart, but she would never run again.

She only nodded, fighting to keep a pleasant smile on her face to hide the stab of fear she just felt.

He kissed her again, lightly, before stepping back and vanishing in a cloud of glitter. Sarah let out a breath of relief the second he was gone, and turned back to appraise the garden.

Hours past, and soon the sun began to set. It got colder, but Sarah didn't mind; this place was beautiful and she was finally outside. If it wasn't so cold, she would have loved the opportunity to take off her stockings and shoes and run bare foot through the grass, but as it was, she had to content herself running her fingers over the dew soaked tips, almost feeling the vibrations of the earth shoot through her arm.

She was seated on a bench by the time the sky was lighting up with orange and vibrant pink as the sun began to set.

"Beautiful." Sarah sighed contentedly; gazing out at the garden with peaceful abandon.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you." Said a strange voice from behind her, and Sarah jumped up and spun, confronted with a stranger looking right at her.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Jordan was the son of a very wealthy duke in the Marshland kingdoms. His father worked directly for another Unseelie king, one of the closest kings to Jareth. He had told his father he had wanted to witness court proceedings and get to know the kingdom closest to the one in which they resided, and now he could not have been happier that his father had bought that excuse.

He was actually here on a secret mission, but had now been quite thoroughly distracted. Ever since he had seen the dark haired beauty dance, he had been able to think of little else. He had wondered aimlessly through the Goblin King's castle day after day, just hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but it appeared as though the Goblin King bringing her forward in the company of himself and his father's other dignitaries, was not an everyday occurrence.

The guard had called her a slave. So Jareth must be keeping her somewhere where he could have her all to himself. Jordan wasn't stupid enough to attempt to follow the Goblin King around in his own kingdom, so he had no idea where. Jordan knew he shouldn't be thinking of the girl so much, he had a job to do, and couldn't do so while mooning over a girl he didn't even know. He knew he was a fool to let himself be so consumed with thoughts of her, but he just could not get the image of her face out of his mind's eye.

He couldn't help but wonder if he would ever see her again, and then it appeared that luck was on his side. He had gotten into something of a routine of walking through the castles gardens every evening before retiring to his quarters, and was just heading back to the castle when he saw her.

She was even more beautiful then he remembered; her face was turned to the left slightly, her eyes closed, turned upwards towards the light. The colours of the setting sun bathed her face in a radiant glow no artist could have ever captured. Her lips, though slightly paled from the cold, held a smile of blissful relaxation making him want to smile in return. When she opened her eyes, though she was still turned away from him, he could see the sharp green of her eyes. Such brilliant shining jewels that set a perfect contrast with her dark brown hair.

He took in a sharp breath as she spoke, "Beautiful." She sighed, looking appraisingly over the gardens bathed in an autumn sunset.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you." He responded, not sure what prompted him into revealing himself, only that he just simply burned with the desire for her to look at him.

He almost regretted it as she spun to face him, shock and disbelief quickly turning into fear. Jordan was a little shocked at how scared she actually appeared. Her stance was directed away as though she was about to run, her eyes widened and twitched and then widened again. She gaped, and then froze, as though completely immobilised, and Jordan had no idea how to react.

Sarah felt like a deer caught in headlights. She stood frozen, her eyes seeking frantically for an escape. In truth, the man before her didn't look the least bit threatening. He looked young, though that would be no indication on the true age of a fae, he nevertheless looked younger then Jareth. He had simple light brown hair cropped close to his head, pale features and light blue eyes. Despite his calm demeanour, Sarah wanted nothing more than to run. She hadn't interacted with anyone aside from Jareth, for a whole year. And it wasn't as though she wasn't thirsty for someone, anyone else in her life; she simply knew that Jareth would never allow it. That was why she made no effort to interact with the female goblins that cleaned her room and helped her dress every day, simply because it would probably only end in trouble. When you're __owned__ by a crazy psychopath, you don't get friends.

So Sarah's first instinct was that of a startled animal; freeze, then run. But she couldn't. She knew she couldn't. Jareth had practically told her not to leave, and she knew that no matter the excuse, such a blatant act of disobedience would lead to severe punishment, of that she was certain.

The fear was intense. Fear of the unknown man. Fear of Jareth. Fear of the future and the consequences of even being there.

So she didn't do anything. She didn't move, she didn't talk, she just stood there and slowly allowed her stance to relax under the man's gaze.

She was still scared, but she knew she couldn't run, so she didn't do anything, simply returned his stare.

After watching her slowly calm from her eerily fear, Jordan finally felt confident enough to speak. "I didn't mean to startle you. I apologise." He said, watching as her eyes grew wider in confused shock.

Did someone just... _apologise_ to her? As though she was an equal? To anyone else, an apology may not have seemed so momentous, but to Sarah, who had been beaten and threatened into submission, a genuine apology was worth the world. Her eyes almost smarted with tears before she shook herself out of her daze.

"It truly is a lovely evening isn't it?" The man said, almost... nervously. Sarah just continued to stare in dumb shock, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"Are you all right?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned for her well being. She shouldn't be talking to this man, she knew it, it might make Jareth angry, something she simply couldn't afford. But still, as worried as she was – and she noted that her reaction went from scared to worried – she found she almost didn't want to turn away. The man's small abashed smile held a genuine tenderness she hadn't seen in... Well, a year. She realised how completely starved she was for contact. Contact with anyone who wasn't the violent king who would hold her chains in his vice like grip for all eternity.

Despite her need to reach out to someone, anyone, she tried to think of an easy way to end this one sided conversation and have the man leave her be. Finally she supposed she should say something, at least to avoid being chided for being rude.

"I apologise sir, but I am not permitted to speak to others without permission from his highness, so if you'll please excuse me." Sarah said, sounding every bit as much as a brainwashed servant.

The man looked at her strangely; he looked almost... worried for her. The thought that a complete stranger would be concerned for her was so outstanding that Sarah did not immediately register the shift in the air, signalling Jareth's return.

"I understand, but might I trouble you for one thing?"

"Yes?" Sarah replied warily.

"What is your name?"

"That is none of your concern." Said the cold voice of the king materialising behind Sarah. Sarah froze, and Jordan saw very clearly the fear in her face. He may have just made a big mistake.

Jareth stood still, looking between Sarah and the duke's son with narrowed eyes. He walked towards the pair slowly, and though they stood almost twenty feet apart, Jareth still felt the urge to put himself between them. When he stood before them both, he turned to address the duke's son. Though he burned with rage and jealous anger, his tone was calm as he said, "It's getting rather late, why don't you go inside and get warm."

Though it sounded like a suggestion, there was no question in neither Sarah nor Jordan's mind about the order that hung in the air. Jordan bowed respectfully to the king, and replied, "Of course Sire. Enjoy your evening." Before turning and walking away, his face immediately twisting into worry for the fate of the girl he was forced to leave alone with the king.

Jareth waited until the duke's son passed through the gate before waving his hand through the air, effectively locking it, and turning back to Sarah.

Sarah could feel his anger, though his face was perfectly placid and calm, she had spent a year learning everything about him, him being the only thing with which she could learn; and she could tell how mad he was.

Jareth took one long appraising look at Sarah, though it was getting darker by the second, his sight was impeccable, and he could clearly see the fear in her eyes. __Good__, he thought.

"It appears, in my absence, you've been making friends." He said coldly, slowly stalking towards her.

Every instinct Sarah had told her to back away, but the year with him had not taught her nothing. She knew if she tried to run, he would catch her, and she would pay dearly for it. Something told her she was about to pay dearly for something right now.

"I wasn't..." Sarah started, in an attempt to defend herself, but the Goblin King interrupted her with a swift, "Be silent."

Sarah reluctantly stopped speaking as Jareth stepped closer, and began to circle the girl. Despite the darkness around them, Sarah could plainly see the anger radiating like fire in his eyes. She shivered involuntarily.

Jareth noted her reaction, and a cruel little smirk graced his features. "Cold out here isn't it?" He inquired lightly. Sarah blinked in surprise. He was asking about the weather? She could still feel his anger, and still felt a desperate need to tell him it wasn't her fault if he would listen, so why was he asking about the weather?

"Yes Your Majesty." Sarah responded quickly, after noting that he did in fact ask a question that required an answer.

"Hmm." The king hummed, still circling the girl, who stood absolutely still, only turning her head from left to right in an attempt to keep him in sight.

"It appears I may have been to gracious with you. Allowing you time outside on your own was meant to be a reward I now find you undeserving of. So, how ever can I rectify this situation?" He asked sardonically, a rhetorical question this time; Sarah stayed silent.

Jareth's smirk grew wider as he noted the increase in the girl's tremors. His burning anger at her disobedience blinding him of any logic or reasoning.

"Tell me Sarah; did you enjoy your time in my garden?" He inquired again, and Sarah sized up the question at lightning speed before replying with her monotone, "Yes Your Majesty."

"Good." Jareth purred, bringing his finger to his lips in sarcastic contemplation. "Then I take it you wouldn't mind spending a little more time out here." He said with a wicked grin and Sarah's unease grew to the point where fear was slowly creeping in, up and through the wall she kept most of her emotions behind.

Jareth stopped before her, dragged his gaze leisurely up the thick fur coat and gown she was wearing, and then barked, with sinisterly amused authority, "Remove your clothing."

Sarah took in a sharp intake of breath at his command. Not just the words but his tone. She heard a malicious glee to his words that she had never noted before, and was so busy shaking at the implication of his order, that Jareth became very impatient.

"Do as you're told." He growled, allowing his face to show his anger for the first time. Sarah cringed away from the weight of his gaze, and hastily began to follow his direction. As each item of clothing fell to her feet, Sarah could feel the cold of the air stabbing at her body in painful successions.

She hesitated when it came to her undergarments, it being that of a chemise with a built in bra and a pair of pale pink underwear.

Jareth looked her over with both anger and lust, but fought for control. This was meant as a punishment. He could not give her pleasure tonight.

"All of it!" He barked harshly as he saw Sarah's hesitation, and Sarah quickly and silently removed both her chemise and her underwear, leaving her standing in a pool of clothing completely bare, cringing and shivering violently against the cold.

Jareth looked over the freezing girl pleased. He had never punished her in this way before, and when he saw her bring her arms up to hug her chest in a desperate attempt to keep warm, he smiled cruelly. Closing the space before them, he pried her hands away from her chest and held them out wide.

Sarah shook violently against the bitter cold in the air, it seemed that with every second the temperature was dropping another ten degrees and the light in the sky growing ever dimmer, so that she could barely see his face as she felt the frozen air stab at every exposed part of herself: particularly her fingers, breasts, and toes.

Jareth noticed the hardness of both her nipples and smirked, running his gloved thumbs over each, causing her to jerk and shiver.

Jareth would have enjoyed pleasuring her right then and there, but again, he resigned that he could not. This was a punishment; not a reward.

He stepped away from her abruptly, coldness coming back into his stare as he watched Sarah shake and fight the urge to wrap her arms back around her chest, as they still hung spread out in the air.

__At least the girl has learned some obedience__, he thought coldly, his anger turning to jealously again as he thought of her conversing with the boy.

"Tell me girl, do you remember me giving you permission to speak to any member of the visiting dignitaries?" He asked harshly and Sarah stammered shivering, "N...n...no Yo...Your...M...Maj...Majesty."

"That is because I did not. I did not say you could speak to anyone, and yet I find you speaking with the duke's son as though you are his equal. As though I gave you leave to converse with anyone other than myself. This is an offence that will not go unpunished Sarah."

"B...but I..." Sarah tried again and again was interrupted.

"I said silence!" He almost yelled and Sarah cringed again, though now she was shaking so hard she feared she might have frost bite on her toes, she hardly thought Jareth would notice.

"It seems my generosity has made you wilful. To __knowingly__ disobey me after I am gracious enough to place trust in you? Tut tut Sarah. Tut tut." And with that he moved forward again, grabbed her arm and pulled her towards one of the tress in the garden, Sarah stumbled after him, the gravel harsh on her now bare feet.

When Jareth reached a high winding tree he pushed Sarah up against it, the bark cutting roughly into her bare back. With a wave of his hand Sarah's chain shot out of her ankle collar and spun around the tree, returning from the opposite direction to connect itself back into the cuff.

Sarah rose scared and pain filled eyes at the Goblin King. Though she was no stranger to pain at his hand, forcing her to remain outside, naked in the freezing cold was just a whole new level of cruel. Even for him.

Jareth gave Sarah another long appraising look before stepping away again.

"Since you seemed to enjoy my garden so much, you can remain here for the rest of the night. I can control everything that happens here, so no one will enter besides me, and no one will see my prize. You can use this time to have a nice long think about how you will be making your indiscretion up to me." He said, his cruel smirk growing wider with every word. And with that, he vanished, leaving a shivering Sarah in his wake. And just when Sarah thought it couldn't get any worse; it began to rain.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah huddled as tightly as she could into the tree, holding her limbs firmly together in an attempt to stifle the cold. She couldn't help the tears flowing, even as they simply made her face colder, they flowed freely, more freely then they had in months.

The rain pelted down hard and fast, and though she managed to take some cover under the tress thick branches, the harshness of the rain still found every part of exposed skin drenched in frozen water, each drop landing like a bullet on her almost blue skin. She knew she couldn't sleep, even if she tried she knew that sleeping when your this cold is a bad idea. So Sarah simply cried for hours and shook viciously against the harsh frozen weather, some of it being Jareth's doing, she just knew it. He had said he could control what happened here, so she had no doubt he had made it rain on purpose; just another display of his precious dominance and power.

Fuck. She hated his guts.

Sarah was a little surprised at the dark turn with which her thoughts had taken but allowed them all to flow, the anger fuelling a pit of warmth in her stomach. Warmth she was relieved for.

What she wouldn't give for the power to punish him for all he had done. Sarah honestly believed that if she had the ability to kill him, she would. If she had any way to hurt him, then she would. He deserved a long, painful excruciating death and she could only hope that one day, whether she was alive for it or not, someone would give him what he deserved.

Eventually the bitterness of her thoughts ebbed, quelled by exhaustion. She watched the sun rise in the distance with quiet contempt. Apparently the rain was sanctioned to this area alone, leaving her in no doubt that Jareth had made it rain on purpose, just to torture her.

The sun slowly rose and Sarah watched its progress dimly until she noticed the rain beginning to subside; signalling, she guessed, Jareth's awakening.

She had no way of knowing how long she had been sitting in her torment before Jareth re-appeared in the garden. Sarah didn't have the strength to move or even react. She was exhausted and in pain; her skin frozen, her bones tight, her fingers and toes curled against the cold air.

Jareth moved right up to her, waved the chain away from her ankle and lifted her into his arms. She automatically huddled into the warmth of his chest, no longer caring for anything. Her nerves were so shattered she only dimly noticed when Jareth materialised them into her room, set her down in her bed and pulled the blanket over her. The sudden warmth of her surroundings slowly unlocked all of her cramped joints. Her shivering eventually subsided and she succumbed to exhaustion.

She woke a full day later, having slept for over twenty hours, her body re-generating. She felt Jareth slide in silently beside her, but was still too tired to react as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in tightly to his chest.

"I'm so sorry I was so cruel to you precious. I know you didn't do anything to deserve it. I just got so jealous when I saw you talking to him. I realise how foolish of me that was now. He told me you only spoke to him to tell him you were not permitted to speak without my consent. You were only being respectful and I realise I was unfair to you. Can you forgive me?"

Sarah merely nodded into his chest. Anything to appease him and never go through a night like that again. He pulled her closer, reverently kissing her forehead, and Sarah silently wondered how sincere his apology was. She knew there was no point in denying it, though she would have loved nothing more, it wouldn't do her any good.

She fell asleep in his arms again, and when she woke, it was dark and she was alone. She sat up and threw the covers back, relieved and a little surprised to find that she still had all ten of her toes, and they all looked in perfect condition, her skin returned to its usual pale pink.

She got up to take a bath, having been sitting in wet grass completely naked all night, she knew she was in dire need of one, and as the hot, clean, soap soaked water washed over her tired limbs, she knew a hot bath was another thing she would never take for granted again.


	3. Part Two - Chapter Two

****Part Two****

****Chapter Two****

Apparently, and to Sarah's great surprise, Jareth's guilt was all too real. After two days back in her chambers, Jareth finally allowed her full access to the castle. She could go anywhere in the castle and it's gardens she liked, as long as she didn't leave the castle grounds, and was always back in her chambers by eight in the evening.

Sarah was stunned by this change of events; stunned and delighted. Though she had not yet gotten over the euphoria of having her own room and the luxuries that came with it, she none the less basked in this new sense of freedom.

She spent the next few weeks leisurely exploring the castles depths, slowly growing accustomed to seeing the goblins scuttling around in a slightly sinister mockery of childlike behaviour.

She enjoyed the library, it being ten times the size of the library she remembered from her old college, filled with books about the underground which she found nothing but fascinating.

She still enjoyed taking walks outside, though with the cold bitter weather she could only afford an hour or so after lunch, staying completely clear of Jareth's 'favourite' garden. She still took all her meals in her room, nowhere near confident enough yet to attempt to eat in the dining hall, and knew it probably wasn't an option anyway, given that the dignitaries were still there.

The only hiccup she had encountered in regards to being able to explore the castle was that she was no longer alone. It took a great deal of time for her to adapt to actually seeing people. Isolated for as long as she was, even something as simple as passing a stranger in the hallway was enough to make her tremble whenever it occurred, so she tried to interact as little as possible, but sometimes confrontation was unavoidable.

About a week after she had settled into a routine of visiting the library in the morning - even laying claim to her own cosy corner in the library, where she chose a very comfy burgundy leather armchair and stacked every book she read on one of the tables near her instead of putting them back where they belonged – she came across the young man again.

Because of the size of the library, despite people moving around frequently, she mostly went completely unnoticed. She didn't know what to think of the boy, but was absolutely horror-stricken when he decided to confront her again. Remembering all too well the punishment she had faced on their last encounter, she had been scared out of her wits when she heard his voice inquiring after her from where she sat in her favourite chair, her head buried in a book spouting the magical properties of every flower and plant in the Underground. It hadn't been a long conversation, or a conversation at all in fact. The duke's son merely requested the location of a book he had seen her reading only a few days prior, and Sarah had done nothing except fish said book from one of her many piles and set it on the table in front of him, not even daring enough to approach him. When the day ended and she returned to her room at eight sharp, the Goblin King had inquired after her day, as he usually did. Sarah, knowing full well that he must have been watching her, or at least had her watched pretty much all the time, recalled the incident to him, brushing it off as nothing and insisting that she didn't even speak to him, merely gave him the book he requested. She sensed some angst in him at the reveal, but he did nothing out of anger. She supposed that after the garden 'incident' he had taught himself how to reign in his own anger towards her being in close proximity to any other man, but she wasn't stupid to think that the compassion he had shown after he had basically tortured her was a sign that he was changing. It wasn't the first time he had made a heartfelt apology after doing something horrific and she doubted it would be the last.

She hadn't seen the man since, and she supposed that was a good thing. She was still wary of Jareth's reaction to her conversing with others, though it was necessary to share a few simple words with his goblins, such as 'excuse me,' or 'please let go of my shoe;' she didn't think he would be as forgiving if she chose to interact with his guests.

Another thing she enjoyed indulging in now was painting. She had been attending a performing arts college before she was returned to the labyrinth, and she had enjoyed writing fiction, acting and painting as extracurricular activities. Though the first two seemed somewhat pointless to her now, she never the less started reclaiming the sedative calm in painting canvases of the castle and the labyrinth from different points in the castle. She had been working on the view of the labyrinth from a high tower in the castle, finally feeling confident enough to tackle its enormity, when a familiar pair of arms wound themselves around her waist and pulled her back into his chest. She faked a contentful sigh and leaned into his embrace to cover up her discomfort.

"You really are very talented, I may have to acquire that for my bedchamber when it's finished." Jareth said, pointing his head in the direction of the half finished painting of his labyrinth; it really was a very well done piece of art.

Sarah giggled, it sounded just a shade wrong to her ears but she hoped that was only because she knew she was faking it.

"I think I can talk the artist into giving you a discount." She joked and was pleased when she heard the rumble of his laughter. She took his behaviour as a sign that he was starting to let his guard down around her, while she had never been more alert.

Jareth turned her in his arms and bent to kiss her. She raised her head to meet him, wondering for the millionth time what it was about her that he found so damn appealing. Was it really only the fact that she had beaten him at his own game and then refused his offer to stay that had given birth to such a dangerous obsession? She often tortured herself with useless conjecture about what her life would have been like if she had just accepted. Would he have grown tired of her by now? Would she still have been punished every time she disagreed with him or fought against him? It was futile speculation; she never would have accepted even if she could have changed the outcome. Not when the price to pay would have been her brother's life and freedom.

She quickly shut the door on the train of thought before the picture of her baby brother could fully form in her mind.

__Don't think about them__; she recited desperately. __Not ever.__

She heard him sigh heavily and dragged herself back to the tower they were standing in.

"I'm sorry precious." The Goblin King sighed, stroking her hair as he held her close.

She raised her eyes to meet him in confusion. "For what?" She asked surprised.

"Some... complications have arisen in the arrangements I have been making with the kings in the Marshland areas. I'm afraid that these issues are not something that can be handled with mere letters or middlemen. I think it best that I take the time to travel to the Marshland's myself to attend to this matter personally."

Sarah looked up at him in dazed silence before finally finding her voice. "You're leaving?" She inquired shocked, but silently praised herself on how truly sad and disappointed she sounded at the news. She fought a smile as Jareth's concerned featured melted slightly, and he raised a hand to stroke her cheek tenderly, a clear indication that he had bought her sombre tone.

"I'm afraid so precious, there's simply nothing else I can do, the Marshland kings would never be able to settle so much as a dispute over the last slice of bread without declaring full out war on one another. They need a diplomatic negotiator and since the fate of their kingdoms affects mine as well, I am sorry to say that I have the regretful pleasure of filling that role."

Sarah bit her lip and tried to fight down the wave of excitement she felt. She forced her face to remain stuck in a frown and was very proud of herself when she felt a tear slide down her cheek as she lowered her gaze.

"How long will you be gone?" She snivelled, trying to appear upset without overdoing it. Showing even a twinge of relief would no doubt result in her being chained in the dungeon for the duration of his trip.

She felt the leather of his gloves push her chin back up to meet his gaze once more, with an indulgent smile he gently wiped the slow running tear from her cheek before lowering his lips to hers in a tender kiss.

"I'm not sure little one, but I promise that I will not leave you for to long. I would even take you with me..." Sarah's breath hitched for a moment, "... But the Marshlands are quite an unstable place at this time, and I will not risk your safety, no matter how much I will miss your company." He told her gently.

Sarah nodded her head in woeful acceptance. She raised her gaze and whispered weakly, "I understand."

Jareth brushed his lips against her cheek before placing his hands on both her shoulders and holding her at arms length. "There is one more thing precious." He spoke again, and Sarah ceased the jumping for joy in her own head at his regretful tone. She silently scolded herself for behaving like an idiot. Obviously, if he was leaving his kingdom, there would be some kind of catch.

"While I am gone, I must insist that you return to your chambers until I return. While some of the dignitaries are accompanying me back to their kingdom, others have to remain behind to settle less important matters with my members of counsel. And though I have every faith in the competence of my guards to see you are not disturbed, I would feel much better about leaving if I knew you were safe."

Sarah's shoulders sagged slightly at being stripped of her privilege to roam around the castle, but was also relieved he hadn't requested something worse. She nodded her head in consent. "Of course Your Majesty, if it will make you feel better. When will you be leaving?" Sarah questioned, trying not to sound too eager.

"Tomorrow morning." He replied, running his right hand down the length of her body and squeezing her hips lightly. Sarah sensed where his mood was heading and forced herself not to groan. Reassuring herself that this would be the last time in at least a week he would be using her body, she forced another giggle before stepping closer to him. "Would you like me to give you something to remember me by?" She inquired suggestively.

His response was a lustful growl as he took her hand and walked her down the stairs of the tower and through the castle towards her bedchamber.

They passed a goblin on the way back to her room, and the little female watched after her king and the human girl with a despairing eye. While many of the goblins felt sympathy for the girl, most couldn't help but be relieved she was here. Those three years after Sarah defeated the labyrinth were the worst in history for the subjects of the Goblin King. He had always been an angry and violent personality, but those years with Sarah gone was likely to see any of Jareth's subjects strung up and tortured at the king's mere whim. And low beside the fate of anyone caught speaking about the mortal champion who had conquered both the labyrinth and its king.

However, this last year had been an enormous improvement. Where once the king was likely to dole out pain and severe punishment on the drop of a mood swing, he was now patient, calmer, and even oddly compassionate at times. All of the goblins equated this change to the human girl being back in the kingdom, and while some believed it was simply because the king had a new victim to focus his energy - many still remembered the sounds of screams echoing through the halls of the castle during the first few weeks after the girl's arrival - others truly believed that their king was in love with the girl. At least, as much in love as an UnSeelie fae was capable of. Any member of the UnSeelie court were powerful and dangerous, but it was also in their genetics to be cruel and ruthless. Indeed, many of Jareth's subjects had suffered their share of UnSeelie fae cruelty, and thanks to much castle gossip, all knew of the cruelty that had been suffered upon the poor girl who was unlucky enough to have the king's undivided attention.

The goblin watched the king pull the girl down the hallway and around the corner, heading to the girls bedchamber, before she scuttled off to the kitchens.

It was very busy in there, as it had been since the small assembly of dignitaries arrived for their courtly visit. The castle's goblins had twice as much food to cook and dishes to wash for the duration of their stay, but the lucky goblins were the ones who were assigned to the kitchens. At least they had the luxury of staying out of sight, as not many higher class fae would ever be caught dead being seen in a place of domestic work. The unlucky ones were assigned to attend to the castle's guests. Many goblins resented the fae for how they treated anyone of lesser rank, and many were likely to feel the boot of their kind simply for their own entertainment.

The little goblin female worked her way through the kitchen, trying to stay out of the way of the goblins hastily preparing food, before entering the wash rooms. Most female goblins were assigned to laundry, and the little female deposited her load of sheets in the hot water basin before getting to work on washing them.

After about an hour into her task, her ears pricked up to the sound of hushed whispers coming from a basin not far from her own. The room was large and loud, with numerous goblins scampering around washing and ironing clothing or bedding, but this goblin had exceptionally good hearing, and picked up her ears at the whispered murmur of 'the human girl.' The goblin looked behind her to see it was indeed the senior goblins huddled around a basin talking in hushed tones. Those were the older goblin females who had been hand picked by the king to tend to his little mortal. Not one goblin in the kingdom underestimated the king's attachment to the girl, and so being chosen to service the girl had been seen as a great honour. Even if the girl was treated like a slave, all goblins were aware that any inappropriate behaviour in concern to her would be punished severely. The punishment for the last goblin who had behaved inappropriately towards the king's obsession was still spoken of in tones of fear, even eight months after.

The little goblin wanted to know what the senior women were talking about and so subtly inched closer to their basin under the guise of carrying out ordinary chores.

When she was close enough to hear they were indeed discussing the girl, she kept her back to the group with her attention outwardly focused on laundry, while perking up her ears keenly to the conversation.

"... The carvings under the bed. The poor dear. If the sheet hadn't snagged on one of the beds planks I never would have noticed them."

"Did you tell His Majesty?" Asked one of the other goblin women in a voice filled with worry.

"Certainly not! The girl must be terrified enough as it is, to conceal such a thing as recording the days. She must fear His Highness a great deal to hide something so simple. We all know his wrath is terrible but where that girl is concerned..."

Her speech drifted off, and though the little goblin female had her back to the group of older women so as not to draw attention to her eavesdropping, she imagined that the goblin woman had shuddered.

"But at least the girl is allowed about the castle now. I thought he would keep her chained to that bed forever." Another woman said, stirring a ladle into the hot water, separating the pieces of clothing within.

"At least there's that, though I don't want to think about what he must have done to her those two days he forbade us to enter her chamber just before. Gustav said he saw the king take the girl out of the castle one evening, and never saw him bring her back. I can only imagine..."

"Well stop imagining!" Yet another of the women snapped, causing the little eavesdropper to jump slightly at the woman's harsh firm tone. "It is not our place to question such things. The girl belongs to the king and she is his responsibility alone. We shouldn't even be discussing this. Should this get back to the king..."

"Oh come on Mildred, what else are we suppose to discuss? The visiting dignitaries? At least Sarah..."

There was a collective gasp among the small group of women and the little goblin froze, thinking she had been discovered. The next sound she heard coming from the direction of the basin her back was facing was the sharp rap of wood hitting bone. The little goblin imagined someone had just gotten hit over the head with the ladle.

"Shut your mouth this instant. Do you have any idea of what the king would do to us if he heard you use her name? He would have all of our heads simply for discussing her. She is __his__ slave, no other. We can not be seen showing any kind of compassion towards the girl. Everything the king does is within his right, and if he learned any of you thought otherwise, you might suffer the same fate as those three traitors who were foolish enough to help the girl defeat the labyrinth in the first place." A collective shiver ran through the group of whispering conspirators, even the young goblin girl shuddered, for even she had heard tales of the punishment bestowed upon the human girl's old companions.

There was a snivelling sound from behind the girl, no doubt from the goblin who had just been clouted over the head with the ladle. There was silence for a few moments, and then a voice whimpered, "He treats her so terribly."

More silence, then the voice of the scolding older woman sighed wearily. "There is nothing we can do. To go against the king is to beg for death, and a painful one at that. You may be fond of the girl, but enough to risk your life? Even she knows her position here, why do you think she never makes an effort to speak to us, even though I can see in her eyes a longing to reach out to someone, even she would not oppose the king in such a way. She knows her place; you would do well to remember yours."

And that, by the woman's firm tone, was that. The selective party dispersed and the little goblin girl lingered over the basin of sheets she had been paying little attention to before walking away also.

None saw the little ball of light subtly twinkling in a hidden notch in the wall, or noticed it lingering over the place the senior goblins had just been discussing before setting off to fly through the air and out one of the laundry room's windows. If any had, they might have recognised the little light, and its significance in being inside the castle at all.


	4. Part Two - Chapter Three

****Part Two****

****Chapter Three****

__Sarah's screams echoed brokenly through the dark little room as Jareth brought the whip down again. Her body swung forward in the chains binding her to the ceiling, as though trying to escape the poison of the sting against her back. Jareth watched as the new line he had painted on her body bloomed and bled, criss-crossing with other marks she had received from earlier that night and other nights before.__

__Jareth dropped the whip to the floor and walked around to face his obsession. She was drenched in sweat, her long dark hair matted and stuck to her forehead as she panted, her face twisted in agony and the strength she was using to keep herself from passing out. Jareth stepped forward and grabbed her chin in his hand, forcing her gaze to his. He was met with blazing green eyes that sparked with horrid pain and fierce defiance.__

__He loved those eyes; but not like this.__

__"This can end any time you will it Sarah." He growled forcefully. "Tell me you belong to me!" He ordered for the third time that night, increasing the pressure on her chin, demanding her gaze stay locked with his. She glowered at him. Her naked body was aching and bleeding, her arms stretched and pulled as they attempted to hold the weight of her whole body from the cuffs around her wrists. Her feet just barely grazed the cold stone floor, causing her toes to bleed. And it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. She held her glare, and managed to summon enough saliva from her scorched throat to spit in his face.__

__"Fuck... you!" She snarled hatefully, if she had had the strength she would have kicked out at him, but as it was, she merely settled to attempt to hold her body still as she killed him thousands of times in her mind. Jareth's face melted from angered disgust to sinister calm as he used his sleeve to wipe the spit from his face.__

__Having spent a few days with him in this dungeon now, Sarah knew that when he looked that calm, there would be an inferno of rage boiling behind his eyes.__

__She still didn't care.__

__She would not brake.__

__He stepped closer, slowly removing his gloves and running his bare fingers down her exposed skin in a whisper of a touch she still tried to jerk away from. He lightly traced the shape of her breasts and down her hips, running slender fingers over the contour of her ass before reaching her thighs. His hands on the backs of both her legs he jerked her forwards and wrapped her legs around his waist. One hand moved to the small of her back and purposefully held her still as she attempted to wriggle free from her new position. The other hand hunted back up her body, gently brushing the sweat-damp hair away from her forehead before tangling into the hair at the base of her scalp. He roughly yanked, bringing her face a hair's-breadth from his; eliciting a cry of pain that Sarah choked back down the second it escaped.__

__When their noses were practically touching, she could see plainly the madness that shun from his eyes, even in the light-less, airless stone prison.__

__His eyes carried as much lust and desire as they did anger and contempt. A dangerous cocktail of emotions all directed specifically at her.__

__He ran his tongue along her cheek, tasting her tears and sweat before moving to her ear. Taking the lobe in his teeth he harshly bit before he growled with evil authority; "You will."__

__And without giving Sarah so much as a second to form some kind of retort, did he plunge himself inside her in one hard and unmerciful thrust.__

__Sarah cried out, though this time she was unable to bite it back as Jareth began pounding himself into her broken, bleeding body.__

__His nails dug into the skin of her naked legs as he punished her in the most effective way possible. Sarah scrunched up her face and squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look at him. It wasn't the first time he had taken her so brutally, but just like the whip, the pain was not something Sarah could adapt to. She whimpered as tears began to once again drench her face. She wished she could be stronger, not give him the satisfaction of her tears and pain, but she had endured so much already. She didn't even know how many days it had been. Weeks? Months? All she knew was his purpose in all this was to break her, to make her submit. She could not.__

__The image of her family swam to the front of her mind and she saw the smiling, happy faces of her parents and brother beaming at her as they had been just before this evil had slithered its way back into her life.__

__She held the image there, keeping them in focus as Jareth beat into her body with his own. It seemed to go on for hours. The only sounds were their panting and the faint clink of the chains that held Sarah captive. Soon Jareth finally reached his release, shooting his seed deeply inside her, causing her even more pain. She fought the urge to vomit as she felt some of his juices drip down her thighs as he slowly removed himself from her, re-situating his pants so casually as though such an activity were an every day occurrence. It was beginning to be so.__

__Taking another step back Jareth once again took in the visage of his beautiful obsession.__

__He could sense her fatigue. Despite the strength of her will and spirit, he knew she was close to breaking.__

__He removed his hand from the small of her back and her body swung limply back into position, hovering just slightly above the floor, just enough to torture and tease her back and arms shaking with their effort to support her fully.__

__It wouldn't be long now, he knew. It would not be long.__

__He vanished without another word, leaving the shattered girl in her misery.__

__Sarah stayed quiet to make absolutely sure he was gone before finally allowing the pain to drag her down into unconsciousness.__

__She didn't know how much longer she could keep going like this, and prayed to the gods to give her the strength to keep fighting the monster known as the Goblin King.__

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah woke with a start. She was covered in sweat, her face tear stained, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. It took several moments to register that she was in fact lying in her bed and not hanging from chains in the cold dark dungeon she had been so acquainted with for the first few weeks of her stay in the Goblin Kingdom.

Sarah brought her hands up to her face and wiped her damp hair away from her forehead, huffing and puffing out of fear and annoyance.

It was so typical; the first time in a whole year she had gotten to spend without the Goblin King's invasion, and he was still able to torture her.

She hadn't had nightmares like that since weeks after her arrival. Hell, she hadn't dreamt at all in months. Why, when she was finally getting a well deserved break from the Goblin King, was her brain choosing now to re-live the worst time of her life?

Or was it the worst? Sarah had to concede that while these dreams were awful and agonizing, and took her back to a time of great pain, the focus of them wasn't Jareth, it was her.

She remembered how long she had fought against him. How hard. How much fire and spirit she had once possessed. It was nothing but ash and cinders now. Forced into submissive actions long enough and eventually you will start to think submissively as well. So what was worse, then, she wondered: when she was tortured daily for her defiance, or now, when she was living in luxury and the price to pay was pretending to be a willing slave in love with her master?

__Enough__! She was not going to berate herself with useless questioning of what could have been. She would have broken eventually anyway. She was still too much of a coward not to choose death over submission. And something told her that even if she had, he never would have let her. She knew his strength. Knew his power. Knew that even something as absolute and final as death was something he could break to his will as easily as he broke everything else.

Jareth had been gone for three days now, and though her __days__ were bliss, knowing she wasn't going to be forced to submit to her most bitterly hated enemy, her nights had been just like the last since he'd been gone. She didn't know why, and she couldn't really allow herself to care, she just wished that flashbacks from her past weren't fucking with her mind when she could do nothing to change the future.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Oberon stood on the balcony of his personal library overlooking his kingdom. He found it easier to think here than anywhere else in his castle. His kingdom and castle were occupied by many servants and staff, but no one was bid entry in this room without his permission. It was his sanctuary, a place to think and plan and plot in peace, something of which he did not possess much of these days.

His thoughts were in great turmoil. Not that he had had much contentment from the beginning of his long reign over the Seelie kingdoms, but for the past few years he had been hunting for a solution that might possibly save the entire Underground from ruin. Whether he was very close, or even further away than ever before, was the uncertainty that plagued him so.

There came a knock on the door, and a quiet, "Your Highness?" Sounded from the other side.

Oberon recognised the voice, but did not turn to face the door as he answered, "Come in Roderick."

The door opened quietly, and a man who on sight would have appeared around the age of seventy entered the room.

Brown eyes tinted with the grey of age sought his king and found his visage standing on his usually unoccupied balcony. He approached wearily, taking no offense in the king not even turning to acknowledge him. Roderick had served Oberon for many centuries and knew him to be rather detached; especially during times such as these.

"Have you any news from Farwell?" The High King inquired, getting straight to business. He knew Roderick would not have disturbed him here for anything other then matters of great importance.

"Not yet, My Lord. I received several messages following his cross over the Northern Plains, but have received no new information recently."

"And our other spies? What of them? Any news?" Oberon inquired again, still staring out at his vast surroundings as though not truly believing it to be there.

The senior adviser's brow drew slightly, but he answered the king's question. "A few have sent word back; the others are still waiting to be heard from. The information that has been sent back... was... of little use."

A small smile graced the Seelie High King's handsome face as he took in his advisor's sombre tone. "No. I wouldn't imagine it to be."

Roderick's brow drew tighter. "You seem melancholy." He finally said, unabashedly staring at his king as he graced the land with his unwavering gaze.

Oberon's smile grew wider, though his eyes held little true joy. "And why, old friend, would I have means to be happy. Our world is falling down around us, and all I can do is stand on my office balcony and stare at it."

Roderick's gaze turned sharp at that.

"There is no other in the kingdom... in the Underground... that would think as much Your Grace."

"Than either I am an idiot, or everyone else is."

An involuntary smile twitched on the corners of the advisor's lips. He had been advising the king since he had taken the throne at the age of fourteen. Had known him since he was but a child, and yet believed him to be one of the wisest king's to ever rule the entire Seelie kingdom for the last few millennium.

"I'd sooner believe the latter." He said casually, earning him a small snort of amusement from the Seelie High King. The smile died almost immediately after it had come as the king's gaze turned east, towards the Marshlands, and beyond the mountains.

Roderick followed his gaze solemnly.

"The UnSeelie kingdoms grow more powerful by the day, and I fear that soon we will be unable to fight against its spreading disease."

"The UnSeelie tried to wage war against us centuries ago My Liege, and were crushed. I see no reason why such a thing would not happen again." The adviser said rather indignantly.

"They've grown stronger since then Roderick. Stronger and far more deceitful. I'm afraid our world may be thrown into another war before the official end of my reign, and we can not always trust history to repeat itself."

"What's gotten into you?" Roderick finally worked up the nerve to ask. "It's not like you to speak so intimately of war. Do you perhaps know something I do not?"

The king turned his head slightly to the side at his advisor's outburst, but he wasn't angry. He knew he sounded like a cynical old man, bitter and resentful for the future. But this had been a genuine fear plaguing his mind for quite some time. It felt good to share it with someone. Especially someone who wouldn't vastly over-react to his every mood like most of his advisers.

"I do not think that a possibility old friend. You have proven many a time that you are the wiser."

"Then why so cynical?" Roderick asked, not bothering to attempt to argue over the king's claim.

"I'm not cynical; I'm simply worried. I do not wish for the Underground to be thrown into further chaos, and you know as well as I the threat the UnSeelie pose. Since the war we've been able to keep some moderate control over them, but now it appears they are becoming restless again. Our spies don't appear to be making much progress in their tasks and Farwell has not been seen or heard from in months. With each passing day I grow more worried. And more so, because all I am doing is fretting over the circumstances instead of taking immediate actions to change them."

"Farwell knew the risk when volunteering for the mission you presented to court. He knew how dangerous it would be. What could you have done? Packed a bag and joined him on his hunt?"

"If I could have been of some use on his quest then why should I not have?"

"Because you belong __here__!" Roderick exclaimed, his voice raised slightly in agitation. "Your 'worry' for the UnSeelie kingdoms would only double a hundred fold if they gained word you had left your own kingdom to travel past the north territories. No one has dared to do so since the war, they would most certainly ask questions. I don't think either of us are naïve enough not to assume that the UnSeelie High King - whomever he is - hasn't taken the same precautions to spy on us as we have on them."

There was silence for a few moments, the king heavily considering his advisor's advice. He knew he was right, but it didn't cease the worry or the restlessness. He had been working towards a way to destroy, or at least neutralize, the UnSeelie kingdoms for almost half of his rule, and even though there had been many disappointing failures, he could not help but believe that now, he was truly on to something. His plan, the plan to stop the growing spread of that purely evil Fae mutation, was all in motion. And right now it all hinged on several young ambitious Fae and a missing member of his personal court.

The king and the advisor didn't say much more as they gazed upon the kingdoms stretching as far as anyone could see. But both knew the other was secretly hoping that someday soon, this threat against their world would be exterminated.


	5. Part Two - Chapter Four

****Part Two****

****Chapter Four****

"__Tell me you belong to me! Say it!" Jareth yelled as he let the whip fly again. Sarah wailed as the tip struck home, rocking her forward in the chains by the sheer force he excluded into the blow. Jareth threw the whip away from him in something akin to disgust before walking around to face her. This had been going on for weeks now and still, still she resisted. __

__Sarah dropped her head onto her chest and snivelled in pain and helplessness. She didn't know how she had so many tears to cry, or how she still possessed the energy to scream. She was beginning to wonder if she had ever in fact had a life outside this dark room and terrible agony; or if it had all been some trick her mind had played; a wonderful dream that made her wake into a torturous nightmare. __

__Jareth took hold of her chin and forced her to look at him. He could see it in her eyes now; how close she was to breaking. Where once there had been anger, hate, rage, defiance: now there was just pain. Pain and hopelessness.__

__He placed both hands on her cheeks and kept her gaze locked with his. __

__Sarah didn't have the energy to glare anymore. She just stared at him with broken innocence and a silent plea for death. __

"Why__ precious?" He asked, his voice switching from a snarling scream to a tender whisper. "Why do you force me to do this to you? I ask for so little..."__

__Sarah immediately closed her eyes against him and half-heartedly tried to yank her face free from his grasp. He only held her tighter, causing the momentarily ceased tears to breach her red raw eyes again. Jareth made no effort to dim the flow, though he hated her tears, hated it was because of him she wept. He desired her smile. Her love. Her adoration. He wanted her to feel for him as he did for her, but that was never going to happen as long as she clung to any hope of a life that was not with him. He had heard her calling their names in her dreams when he arrived, the reason he had been particularly brutal with her tonight. He hated her for loving others; soon she would love only him. Live only for him. He just wished it wasn't taking so god damn long. __

"__You could live like a queen at my side Sarah, and yet you choose this. Just give me what I want and I will make this pain stop. I will make it so you never need to know pain again. Sarah, just give in."__

__Sarah's eyes continued to leak her misery as she shut her eyes tight and shook her head weakly. She didn't look away out of hate or loathing, but out of fear. Fear that if she stared into his soulless, hypnotic eyes that pleaded her surrender, she would brake. __He__ would break her.__

__Jareth gazed upon her for a moment more before he coldly stepped away, his face twisting back into contempt and rage. With purpose he strode to retrieve his fallen whip and moved back into the same position he had stood moments before. __

"__Have it your way!" He seethed; and the whip cracked down again. __

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah woke in a sweat to the sound of gentle yet persistent knocking. She cast her gaze around the room desperately before finding the source of the noise. Throwing the covers back she staggered to the bedroom door, distantly noting in her sleep fogged mind that it must have been the goblins coming to deliver her breakfast and see to her room. She yanked the door open and stared down at the dazed faces of the five elderly goblin women who were gaping up at her like she had grown two heads. It was then Sarah considered what she must have looked like, however, in that moment, she could not have cared less. She left the door hanging open and went to crawl back into the bed without a single thought, not caring that one of the goblins jobs was to change her sheets and fluff up her pillows. __They're just going to have to do it another time__, she thought. After a dream like that, Sarah didn't care about being a bitch.

The goblins loitered in the doorway for a few moments before tentatively entering the room. They saw the girl had curled up back under the blankets and shot each other concerned looks. The goblin holding the basket with fresh sheets looked at the others questioningly, silently pleading for their advice.

They tried to interact with one another as little as possible when they were tending to the girl. When the Goblin King had assigned them all to the daily upkeep of the normally unoccupied luxury guest room, he had warned them all not to speak to his 'guest' unless absolutely necessary. He had also demanded they inform him at once if she ever attempted to say anything to them, and sensing such a thing would not be good for the girl, all the goblin women kept communication to the basics.

The goblin holding the sheets loitered uncomfortably near the bed as the other goblins set about their work. One goblin disappeared into the bathroom with supplies while another approached the dining table with the dining cart she had been pushing.

Sarah recognised the sharp, enticing smell of bacon the second the dish cover was lifted with a light clank, but still couldn't summon the energy to remove herself from the bed. The lightest trickle of tears were lingering on her eyelashes, but she didn't bother to cast them away. That dream had brought her back to a time of great helplessness and self loathing. She hated how pathetic and weak she was. Was that really all it had taken to get her scraping at the feet of her adversary? She should never have given up, no matter how much she had been suffering. She should have just kept going until he realised how useless it was and just killed her to be done with it.

__Yeah__, her rational mind reasoned, __like that was ever going to happen.__

__Killing you would have meant allowing you to escape him, and you know the lengths he was willing to go to prevent that from happening. __

"Miss Sarah?"

Sarah was shocked out of her thought process when she heard one of the goblins speak. She bolted upright to stare wide-eyed at the goblin near her bed, and noticed that all the other goblins in the room were gaping at her with as much shock and disbelief as she was.

The goblins had never spoken to her, only once on their first day when she had first gotten the room.

That first day had been a strange one, waking up in the enormous bed that was far softer then anything she had ever slept in before. She had woken alone, Jareth already disappeared to tend to his kingdom, and she had stared around the room in near delirious joy as she remembered what had happened and realised it wasn't a dream. She had ran to the big, decorative windows streaming with bright real sunlight, threw back the balcony doors and tumbled out into the glorious fresh air. She couldn't stop herself from laughing. She had never been so happy to see the sun. To feel it on her skin. She was so elated about her new changed circumstances that it took her a whole forty six minutes to realise she was naked. And standing on a castle balcony exposing herself to the world. She had giggled, embarrassed before retreating back into the room, and that was when she noticed the chain. The heavy looking ring of metal that surrounded one of the bed posts snugly, and she followed the chains links until she was staring down at her own ankle. Her full blown grin melted into something humble as she stared. __Of course__, she had thought,__ nothing this wonderful comes without a price__. She knew that the chain meant that even with the pretty, perfect room, she was still a prisoner, but she refused to let something like that spoil her good mood. Her smile had returned as she entered the closet to choose something to wear.

__I get to choose__, she had sung in her mind over and over.

She picked out a simple soft yellow dress with matching shoes and underwear and then went to the bathroom. The smile got even bigger as she dumped pretty much every single bubble bath and lotion she could find into the steaming hot water and plunged herself down into it's depths. Her skin glowed red from the sheer heat of the water, but that was okay too. She was far to pale, having spent a year without direct sunlight, and was looking forward to getting some colour back into herself.

She had sat in the bath until the bath was lukewarm before getting out and getting dressed. She was pulling a brush through her long, dark, wet locks when she heard the door knock.

She froze, brush clattering out of her limp hand where it smacked onto the marble of the vanity with a very satisfying clatter.

She stared at the door as whomever was knocking, knocked again. Her first thought was that it __had__ to be Jareth. Her second thought was that __no way__ would it be Jareth. To knock would imply that he actually respected her. And, she took a moment to silently laugh at that concept before she got up and walked to the door on shaky legs.

She had reached for the door handle, only to find it wouldn't budge. Next few moments of tugging at the door and she realised she must have been locked in.

Again, she conceded, such a thing was to be expected, but if she couldn't open the door, how could she let whoever was knocking in?

"Hello?" She had called shakily through the door, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard someone answer. "Miss?" From the other side.

Sarah had stared at the door like it was going to come alive and eat her. It certainly wasn't the voice of the Goblin King, and she had never been addressed by anyone else the whole time she had been stuck in this kingdom.

"Miss, may we please come in?" The slightly high pitched voice had inquired.

Sarah had gazed at the door in bewilderment. "Um... the doors locked." She had said hesitantly.

"We have a key miss; we just need you to grant us access."

Her confusion grew. "Um... okay?" It sounded like a question.

Sarah immediately heard the click of a lock and the door handle rattle. She stepped back as one of the two double doors was opened and five elderly looking goblins walked in. Sarah had gaped wide eyed as one goblin with a cart strolled over to the dining table; one with a basket headed towards the bed, one with a small trolley went into the bathroom. One headed to the windows to pull the curtains back and one went to stand directly in front of her. She held out her hand and in it a well tied scroll with a little black ribbon sat. Sarah shook her head to clear her daze, and reached for the scroll, as she read the first line, she knew the letter was from Jareth.

__Precious,__

__These are five goblins I have assigned to take care of your bedchamber for you. They will come every morning at this time hence, but will not enter the room unless you give them permission. They will take care of everything for you, so no need to worry, though they will be very busy tending to the room so I must ask you not to disturb them. One will be back to deliver you lunch and dinner but other than that no one else is to be allowed access to your room. I will be speaking with them every morning to see that everything is in order. __

__I will see you later tonight. For now, enjoy your new quarters.__

__Love, Jareth__

Sarah had to refrain from rolling her eyes as she read the letter again and again, de-constructing everything he had written. 'I must ask you not to disturb them?' Didn't take a genius to figure out he had basically forbade her from speaking to them. And 'I will be speaking with them every morning to see that everything is in order?' Sarah could interpret that clearly as, 'I will be speaking with them every morning to make sure you are behaving and not interacting with anyone other then me.'

She suppressed a sigh as she looked down at the little goblin woman who was obviously older than most goblins she had seen. She had tinted thin grey wiry hair with big, drooping ears and was wearing an apron, making her look like a very short ugly old lady. She was staring up at her expectantly, but there was a slight warning in her eyes that let Sarah know that the king had obviously warned them not to speak to her as she had been warned not to speak to them. She gave the woman a weak smile, and handed her back the scroll. The woman nodded, satisfied, and went about helping the other goblin remove the dirty sheets and strip down the bed.

Sarah was a little embarrassed by the state of the sheets, obviously they would carry evidence of her and the Goblin King's late night activities, but what could she do about it? So she simply shrugged and moved over to the dining table where once again her smile returned at the sight of a full English breakfast.

And that was that, aside from calling out to them on the other side of the door, she and the goblins had never spoken a word to each other. And now that she wasn't locked in anymore, she didn't speak to them at all. They must have known her position; they had seen her shackled to the bed after all, so she appreciated how they hardly ever spoke to each other when they were in her room, because they didn't want her to feel pressured, or awkward. She was grateful to them for making it easier.

But now, as she stared into the face of the goblin woman who changed her sheets, and noted in the background the head goblin – or so she assumed, she had always seemed to Sarah to be more of a supervisor – glaring at the woman like she had just killed her puppy, Sarah didn't have a thing to say.

"Are you all right Miss Sarah?" The goblin spoke again, standing tall with her chest puffed out, but by the slight twitch in her voice it was obvious to Sarah that the goblin knew she was doing something bad, and was going to be in deep trouble.

Sarah's eyes darted frantically. She caught the gaze of some of the other goblins, but they simply lowered their heads and shuffled about, clearly not wanting to be associated with this goblin that had clearly lost her mind.

After several long awkward moments, Sarah couldn't stand the charged silence anymore.

"Yes, I'm fine." She spluttered, almost regretting having said anything at the sharp way the other women's gazes snapped to hers. It was then that Sarah realised she wasn't the only one in this kingdom bullied and intimidated by the Goblin King. It was obvious that these women were scared as well. But that look they all had... it wasn't fear for themselves, it was fear for her, somehow she knew it. For whatever reason, they cared about her. That was enough to shake Sarah out of whatever funk of self pity she had been in, and she swung her legs off the bed and headed towards the dining table quickly. She heard the sigh of relief coming from the goblin that had spoken and cast her eyes at the bed to see all five women removing the bedding and changing the sheets.

Sarah couldn't help the slight smile as she chewed on her pancakes. It felt good to be able to help someone. She had felt like the victim for so long. Maybe the key to actually achieving real happiness in her current situation was to take comfort in the fact that, despite everything that had happened, she was still fighting.

The goblins finished their work and lingered until Sarah had finished her breakfast. The tray was removed and all the goblins left. The last goblin out the door was the one who had spoken, carrying the basket of dirty sheets on its head and smiling an encouraging smile at Sarah. She smiled back, given a new sense of peace by her realisation.

The goblin closed the door and walked silently down the hall with the others, knowing she was going to get her head chewed off the second they were in a less private place. All of the goblins were too distracted to notice the little ball of light hiding in among the used sheets. The light glowed with pride; it had fulfilled its mission.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Jordan walked in pace with his father and some of the other dignitaries left behind in the Goblin Kingdom, trying to ignore the way the hall guards eyes followed their every move. He suspected the Goblin King had ordered them to keep a close eye on him specifically, though he had no proof. The only reason he had gotten to stay in the kingdom when Jareth left was because his father was essential to the negotiations happening here, and Jareth couldn't have forced him to leave without drawing specific attention to __why__ he wanted him to leave.

Jordan had been excited when he learned that the Goblin King was going, but soon sobered out when he realised that if Jareth was leaving, he must have stowed his girl away for safe keeping. Jordan realised as much when he went into the library the day after his departure to find the girl absent from her usually occupied leather chair.

He spent a lot of time in the library now, watching her as discreetly as possible. He had even attempted to talk to her there when he requested the location of a book he had absolutely no interest in reading, but had merely saw her reading a few days previous.

It made him sad at first, knowing he probably wouldn't get to speak to her again, because as soon as the Goblin King returned, even if the girl was allowed about the castle again, the king's attentions would no doubt be on high alert.

But after a few days the urge to see her again became nothing short of an obsession, and the sadness made him more and more focused on the one realisation that he had to see her. He knew he was crazy. Out of his mind. And he couldn't explain his fixation, even to himself, but he couldn't seem to defeat the urges either way. So now, six days into the Goblin King's absence, and Jordan was itching to get back to his room to determine if any progress had been made in locating the girl.

The guards lining the hall watched the duke's son excuse himself from the group of men and head in the opposite direction towards the guest wing. They had all been told to keep an extra sharp eye on __that__ one, and while they were given no immediate reason for such an order, all of them had their suspicions.

What Jordan didn't know was that Sarah was the fixation of more than just himself and the king. Almost every man in the Goblin King's court dreamt of having the king's plaything as their own. Even when making use of the vast supply of wenches in the castle, most could not stop themselves from fantasising about her.

She was by far the most captivating woman most of them had ever seen, even if she was mortal, she was absolutely stunning. It explained why she belonged to the king, a fact of which all his guards were envious. They all knew their king to be entitled, believing he deserved the best of everything. And that girl was most certainly the best, having effectively stolen the king's affections from any other woman, plus she was the only slave in the castle to have her own bedchamber, let alone a luxury private suite that was rumoured to have been built specifically for her only a few months after her arrival.

Many of the guards were aware that this boy had been sniffing around the king's possession, had even attempted to make contact with her, something that was expressly forbidden. The king was not pleased at leaving the boy behind, and had informed them to send a messenger to him immediately if any of them saw the girl outside her room.

Jordan hurried to the guest wing, ignoring the unnerving watch of the guards, and let out a breath of relief when he closed the door to his room and locked it. The room was simply decorated, not too lavish but not too plain, with a green vine pattern covering the walls and extending to the four-poster bed. Jordan sat down there, and twiddled his thumbs waiting for his presence to be recognised. It was almost immediate. The little ball of light shone brightly from its hiding place and flew towards Jordan, recognising him. Jordan smiled and held his hand in a welcoming gesture. The ball of light settled in his hand, glowed brightly for several seconds, then dimmed until the small visage of a pixie was standing in Jordan's open palm. The little blue male was smiling up at Jordan, knowing he had done his job right, and would ultimately be pleasing his king. Jordan worked himself up for several moments before finally building the courage to ask,

"Well? Did you find her?"

He couldn't contain the smile that spread from ear to ear as the little pixie nodded.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah ate her dinner in a happy state, despite the fact that now a whole week had passed, and she was mentally preparing herself for the Goblin King's return, she hadn't had another flashback dream since she had decided to stop feeling so sorry for herself. She had no right to wallow in self pity, she had everything she needed and more, and even if the price was submitting to the Goblin King, she hadn't __fully__ submitted. She couldn't stop herself from feeling just a little smug that she had convinced him she loved him. Even if she knew he would never __fully__ trust her, she was willing to bet that soon even the harshness of his punishments and the strictness of his rules were going to be loosened; and who knew, maybe, given a little more time, and a little more acting on her part, she might even be permitted to have a conversation with her goblins without everyone going as rigid as a plank.

She stepped away from the empty plate, wiping her mouth with a napkin as the goblin wheeled the cart away. Speaking out of turn had been a one time thing, and none had attempted to speak to her afterwards, which she accepted. She even accepted that she might face a punishment for speaking to the goblin when Jareth returned, but that was okay to. She was eager to see if she could convince him to go easy on her, eager to test this new ability of deception.

The goblin left, and Sarah retrieved her half finished book from the personal library lining the wall and settled down in a chair near the window. It was still to cold to sit outside, but she thought the worst of winter was already gone, unless it snowed in the Underground. She had no way of knowing if it did or not. She hadn't read any weather books yet.

She heard a knock on the door, and instinctively froze.__ The goblin must have forgotten something__, she reasoned, putting the book down.

No one else had ever even approached her door before. Or, it could be Jareth, she remembered, and thinking of this possibility, she fixed a smile firmly on her face as she bounced to the door on the second knock. Smoothing out her hair and the back of her dress she tugged the door handle, ready to greet the king, and was left totally and completely dumbstruck when she opened the door to someone else entirely.

Sarah wasn't sure if she screamed or not, but that didn't stop the intruder from charging into the room and placing a hand over her mouth. The other arm slid around her waist and held her against his body as she struggled, instinctively. Her only thought was to get __away__. Jordan smashed a vial of deep purple liquid to the ground and before Sarah could even register the bright light that was engulfing them, the pair vanished.

* * *

****Hello all. Hope your enjoying the story so far. I love reading all your reviews and hearing what you have to say about my work, (though, 'Write More Soon' could say a little more don't you think?) As for the rest of you, while I try to make my work as awesome as possible, please don't hesitate to PM me if you see any mistakes that I miss. I like my work to be perfect and would appreciate any help in making it so. ****

****TTFN****

****KJ****


	6. Part Three - Chapter One

****Part Three****

****Chapter One****

__Jareth materialised into the dungeon as he did every night, to the sounds of gentle sobbing coming from his beautiful obsession. She had never cried so openly before, and while he detested the pain behind her tears, part of him was glad for it. He wanted to be the knight in shining armour coming to save the fairest damsel, but even he could not fool himself to such a degree. He wasn't a White Knight, he was a Black King; but he would still save her. He would save her from her mundane human life in her petty little world that had never appreciated her warmth and grace. __

__The second he had ever seen her he had recognised her light that shun far to brightly for any member of her pathetic race to ever truly see. He had watched her, wanted her for so long, and as she grew older she had only grown more beautiful, more powerful. But he had underestimated the power of her fire. He never would have guessed that when she summoned him with the wish and accepted the challenge to run his labyrinth that she would actually win. He had tried everything, even shown her his own desires to keep her when she was in her ballroom peach dream, but nothing had worked. He had never felt such helpless rage then when she had finished her line and banished him from her life. But what she didn't know then was that her fate had already been sealed. By eating the peach she had bound herself to his world, his kingdom and to him. Her brother had already been saved the moment she reached the castle; had she not remembered her lines in time, she would have been ensnared. But she had remembered. She had left without so much as a second glance and this was what had come of it. Treating her like this truly gave him no pleasure, but it was necessary. She had to learn, and this was the only way. __

__The king took in the sight of her disfigured back and bruised body. Time stood still in this room, the reason why all her wounds were still open but never became infected, and why her arms could be chained above her head for so long, but never lost an ounce of blood. She was supposed to feel the pain, without suffering any long-term damage. __

__He had come with his whip in hand, ready for another lesson should she choose to refuse him again, but hearing her quiet weeping was enough to give him pause. Tonight, he decided, he would try another method. __

__He dropped the whip to the floor, signalling to Sarah he was there, yet her weeping refused to cease. Normally she would go to any lengths to make sure he didn't know how much anguish he was causing her, but tonight she could not seem to stem the flow of tears. __

__Sarah felt like she had been here for years. The cuffs had long since cut into her wrists making the skin tear and heal and tear again. The constant pain of her back made even something so simple as breathing an agonizing torture. She was dehydrated and starved and felt that at any moment every bone in her body would snap and brake, revealing the broken mess she was inside. But the physical pain was not why she wept this night. __

__She was beginning to forget. Everything that had once made her smile and swell with joy had become little more then a faint itching memory in the back of her sub-conscious. When she tried to recall her family, she found their features blurred and distorted. Nothing but disjointed__ __grey shadows hovering on the edge of her memory. Like mere smoke; the harder she tried to snatch at them, the faster they seemed to melt away. __

__Now when she closed her eyes, all she saw was him. His soulless dark orbs, his unruly hair, his cruel mouth and his evil certainty that no matter how hard she fought against him, eventually, she would be kneeling at his feet. __

__When she heard a light thump, she knew he was there, yet her eyes continued to betray her. She braced herself for his cold command cutting harshly through the silence, and the pain that would follow if by some miracle she still possessed the strength to deny him. __

__The sudden pressure on her back made her cringe and shake, but the horrible pain that hit with the tail of the whip against her flesh never came. __

__She remained tense for several more moments before she realised that whatever he was doing, it wasn't hurting her. She reached out with her senses and tried to distinguish the cause of the light petting on her back. __

__It was... __soothing__. She felt light pressure on her wounds and she also distantly thought she recognised the sensation of water. Was he... could he be... cleaning her?__

__Jareth heard the unsteady gasps coming from his most precious possession as he gently ran the warm wet rag over her poor shredded back. He didn't speak nor make a single sound as he washed her. She hadn't been bathed in weeks, and he knew that the cloth would ease the hurt, even if she wouldn't admit it. __

__Sarah didn't know what to do. Though his motions were slow and relaxing and almost... pleasurable, she felt within her the bubbling and boiling of slow rising panic. She could handle his cruelty, if anything it helped her stock the flames of her now dying fire, but this..?__

__No! She didn't want this! She didn't want his compassion! She needed the pain, she needed his hate and rage and punishment! __Please please punish me!

__The words didn't come, and she only whimpered weakly as he lulled all her agonizing__ __injuries.__

__The treatment seemed to last forever, and Sarah hated it. Hated herself for liking it. Feeling how good it felt to be cared for, she realised with despair that she couldn't endure this pain anymore. __Please cause me pain! Please please make the pain stop!

__Jareth made sure to clean every single bloody line scratched into her delicate skin before he placed the wash-rag back in the orange tinted bowl of water he had summoned__ __at the mere flick of a wrist. __

__He had felt her trembling, but this time he knew it wasn't in fear. He could sense fear. Smell it in the air like a cloud of perfume. She was trembling because she no longer had the strength to be strong. Convinced of this, he slowly walked round to face her. __

__Her head was dropped onto her chest, her body no longer possessing any will at all. She snivelled pathetically as she felt his gloved hands tilt her chin to face him. __

__Jareth could see the resignation in her eyes; she was ready.__

__Gently he used his thumbs to wipe the residual tears away from her cheeks, his pressure under her chin the only thing keeping her head up. She had no strength left. __

"__Say it precious." He whispered, with more tenderness then he had ever shown her.__

"__Please." She begged weakly, her eyes were despairing and her face twisted in the lifetime of pain she had endured. She couldn't take this anymore. __

"__Say it." He repeated, more firmly this time, but still possessing that gentle tenderness that shredded the last scrap of her resolve.__

__She whimpered piteously and looking at the ground finally spoke the words she knew he longed to hear; "I belong to you."__

__Jareth had never felt such a soaring moment of victory. He'd never looked more regal and proud then he did in that moment. He suddenly felt the urge to shift into his owl form and take flight to celebrate his conquest, but one more thing remained.__

"__Say it again." He ordered, never raising his voice, though distantly Sarah could have sworn she heard the faint smile she was sure would be playing on his lips.__

"__I belong to you." She conceded again, feeling yet another slow running tear drag down her cheek.__

"__Again." His command rung with finality.__

"__I belong to you." She snivelled in defeat. It was done. It was over. He had broken her. __

__Jareth basked for only a moment before lifting her gaze forcibly to his. He could see her surrender. Her resignation and submission. He could practically taste it. It was a sweet release. __

"__Now and forever, my sweet Sarah. You will __always__ be mine." His words possessed an irrefutable truth that Sarah could do nothing to protest against. She nodded weakly, dropping her chin back onto her chest as Jareth finally reached up to release her from the chains. __

__Sarah didn't remember much more of that night, only the physical relief of freedom. He had taken her to his bedchamber and kept her there until she could stand on her own two feet again. As soon as her marks had healed, he removed the scars, not wanting anything to maim the sight of her. She had slept for days and days and finally accepted that this was her life now. She had given up fighting. She had given up everything. __

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah woke hot. Hot and sticky and uncomfortable and immediately knew something was wrong. She tried to pry her eyes open but found them far too heavy. She heaved painfully, apparently deeply dehydrated, and tried to fight back from a sea of heavy murkiness in order to determine why she felt so out of sorts.

She was lying on a bed, she could tell that much, but she couldn't determine anything else other then using her first fired up braincells to dimly recognise this feeling. This was the same feeling she had every time she had been asleep for far too long, usually after having been sick for several days. The proverbial 'woke up on the wrong side of the bed' came whenever she overslept. It left her feeling sore and groggy and just... not right. But something was itching in her mind, a faint realisation that she shouldn't have overslept. Where were the goblins, they should have knocked by now. Sarah groaned in her head, the heaviness encouraging her to stop thinking and go back to sleep, but there was something scratching on the wall of her haze, trying to get through. The reason she felt so wrong. The reason she felt like she shouldn't be sleeping. With a long, drawn out moan she brought her hands to her eyes and rubbed the soreness away. Sitting up in her bed she gave her eyes one last heavy squeeze before prying them apart.

Sarah froze in dumb shock. The feeling that something wasn't right was instantly overthrown by an electric shock of panic as she realised that it was not her bed she was lying in. The shock was so huge; she actually fell from the bed.

Sarah bolted to her feet almost at once, the fog of sleep immediately lifted in a short sharp rush of adrenaline.

__Oh fuck!__

Where the hell was she?! Sarah looked around frantically, trying to find something, anything she recognised. The room looked like a normal room: bed, wardrobe, chairs, tables; but she had never been in here before. Where was she?!

Sarah saw the door to the left of the room and rushed to it, she grabbed the handle and yanked violently, but it wouldn't budge. She banged on the door, frantically, pleading with whatever unseen person to __let her out__.

This couldn't be Jareth. If he was going to remove her from her room, she was very certain he would have at least told her why, or taken her to his room. She had never been here before, and who else would have the nerve to move her? Who else... who..?

__Oh fuck!__

As the last few braincells fired back to life she suddenly remembered what had happened the last time she opened her bedroom door. She had been taken. Someone had taken her! __He__ had taken her!

Sarah shook her head in denial and backed away from the door, horrified. She looked around frantically, trying to find something, anything to help her escape. __There are windows! I can climb out the windows!__ She rushed to them, only to find that every window she tried to lift or pry open was locked. In a fit of panic she picked up a chair and hurled it at one of them, but it simply bounced straight off as though the windows were made of rubber.

Heart flying in her chest, she screamed. Long and loud. Hoping someone, anyone would hear her. She had reached the desperate sobbing stage and dropped halfway to her knees when she heard the faintest little sound outside the bedroom door.

She choked on her own tears and called out shakily, "H...hello? Please is anyone there? Please you have to let me out, ple..."

She stopped speaking as she heard the faint click of a lock. She stood shakily to her feet as the door slowly opened.

Sarah's eyes went wide. Her heart all but stopped.

__Oh my god__, she realised. __It's him__.

Jordan entered the room slowly, worried about what he would find. He had heard her banging on the door and pleading to be released and was actually a little surprised by her reaction. Granted; the way he took her would probably be of no comfort to her, she didn't know his intentions or why he had brought her here, but he at least expected to see less disbelieving horror on her face as he cautiously moved into the room and slowly closed the door. She stood by the windows, as far away from the door as she could have been in the room, and from her stance, the way she presented herself... Jordan wasn't sure what to think.

He decided to proceed slowly.

Holding up his arms, he indicated that he meant her no harm. He came with a jug of water and a glass which he slowly set down on the first small table he could see before turning to give her his full attention.

She was just staring at him in stunned silence, like her eyes and her brain were in argument over what she was truly seeing. Her stance was defensive, her legs and arms were tensed in a half crouch. Her face was tear-stained and red, and her eyes were wide in fear.

This most certainly was not what he expected.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you." Jordan felt the urge to reassure her, again, holding his arms up in a position of surrender indicating he meant her no harm. Her pose did not relax.

Sarah stared at the duke's son, recognition and disbelief warring on her face. She almost couldn't comprehend this was really happening. Who was this man? Where was she? What was happening?!

He was just standing there, staring at her like __he__ was the one surprised in all this. She needed answers, desperately, but her mouth didn't seem to want to work, too overcome with fear as she was.

After several moments of heavy, tension filled silence Sarah finally swallowed down enough of her terror to form the questions she urgently needed answers to.

"Who... who are you? Where am I? How..?" She had more questions to ask, but a wave of unsteady lightheadedness caused her to sway slightly where she stood. Jordan moved towards her, concerned, and Sarah threw herself back into the wall of windows in a shocked, instinctive response to his sudden move of advance. Jordan halted.

Something was seriously wrong here.

"Don't try to move to suddenly." He advised her, backing up a step, still with his hands in the air. His tactic in trying to convince her he wasn't a threat didn't seem to be working. But then, he reasoned, she had been a prisoner for longer then he knew. And if she had been abused the way he suspected, she must have been this terrified around everyone. Much less someone who abducted her right out of her bedroom.

"The magic I used to get you here can be quite overwhelming to those not used to it. You should try to calm down."

Sarah only continued to stare in dumb silence. His words came to her as though she was hearing them through a glass window; muffled and not quite right. Though one thing seemed to make perfect sense from the haze, one thing that he had said. One thing...

"Get me here?"

She asked slowly, her whole body rippling with tension.

Jordan's brow furrowed as he nodded.

"You mean I'm... I'm... I'm __not in Goblin City__?" Sarah asked even more slowly, sounding out each word in her mouth, her brain unable to register any information any quicker then the pace of a snail.

Jordan sensed it would not be wise to speak, and so simply nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. A genuine smile, thinking this news would please her.

Sarah's shaking ceased, her whole body going as rigid as a board. Her mouth hung limply, her fists clenched and her eyes brimmed with a single layer of tears as her brain consumed what she had just been told.

Jordan saw the intention in her eyes and quickly moved to the door before she rushed it. He was out the door, slamming it shut and locking it behind him before he heard her body slam into the wood with a bang.

"No! Let me out! Please! Take me back! You have to take me back! Please!" She begged over and over and over again. She pounded on the door until her hands were bleeding and her voice was gone. Finally to exhausted to scream, Sarah leant against the door, slid to the floor and cried.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Jordan leaned against the door in shock and confusion as he listened to her wailing.

He didn't understand.

He knew she would be scared. She must have been held captive for so long, the mere possibility of freedom must have never even crossed her mind. But as he listened to her pleas to be returned to the same place she had been kept as a slave he had to admit that perhaps he did not know the situation as well as he had thought.

He left the door solemnly, needing time to think. Her screaming followed him through several hallways until the distance dulled the noise.

__Why was she so scared? Why did she look so horrified when I told her she was no longer in Goblin City? Why..?__

"Sir?"

Jordan was pulled from his musings as a guard in brown attire approached him. Jordan stopped without hesitation, recognising the guard as one of Oberon's personal staff.

"The king requests your presence in the Throne Room. Immediately."

Jordan could tell by the hard tone and the straight face that he was in trouble.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

"What were you thinking?! Not only have you alerted the Goblin King to your employment in this court but you also left behind key evidence of my own magic which will undoubtedly lead him to the knowledge that not only was it __I__ who sent you, but that I, beyond question, suspect whom he really is. You have just jeopardized something I have worked half my life to achieve and for what?! To remove some... some servant from the castle against her will?!"

"She wasn't a servant, she was a prisoner..."

"Silence!" Oberon yelled. Members of court and mute guards all shuffled uncomfortably and watched on wide-eyed. Most had never seen their king so angry.

The scene depicted Oberon standing before his throne, to inflamed with rage to sit, Jordan standing at the bottom of the few steps leading up the platform on which the throne sat. Jordan's head was bowed slightly, his posture humbled and subdued, but he couldn't help but try to defend his actions to the king. He had felt so privileged to be chosen for his assignment, seeing such anger and disappointment in his eyes was a difficult pill to swallow.

Oberon stared down at Jordan's dejected form and spoke again.

"I thought I could trust you. When I approached you with this mission I thought I could rely on you to do as I instructed. I clearly made a very poor judge of your character."

Jordan's head shot up at that.

"I didn't mean to disappoint you Your Highness. But this girl needed help. Is that not what we do? Is that not what you said you were sending me to the Goblin Kingdom __to__ __do__? To help people?"

"Do not presume to lecture me with my own words boy!" Oberon seethed with rage. "You were sent to the Goblin Kingdom with one purpose; to observe. You were meant to observe the way the Goblin King's court worked and report back on your progress. __Discreetly__. You were not meant to remove servants from Jareth's castle using my magic which was given to you in confidence in the case of an emergency. A servant whom, my guards inform me, has done nothing but beg and plead to be returned to her 'prison' since she woke up. Would you care to explain __that__?"

Jordan twiddled his thumbs and shuffled nervously. He wanted to say something in his defence, but in truth the girl's reaction to her new surroundings had surprised him as well. He really didn't know what to say.

Oberon pinched the bridge of his nose and sat on his throne with far more elegance and poise then anyone feeling his level of frustration should ever have been capable of.

"When I approached you for this mission I assumed you were ready. I thought you were prepared for all that would be happening. I thought I had explained the importance of this mission thoroughly enough for you to understand how serious it was that you __not__ be discovered. Now not only have you put my plans at risk, but your own family. For as soon as the Goblin King sees that vial of my magic you __purposefully__ left behind, he will immediately know it was mine, and no doubt he will assume that if you are working for me, then so is your father. You understand the penalty for treason don't you?"

Jordan paled at the king's words. It was true; his head had been so full of that girl it was almost as if all the consequences of saving her had been shoved to the back of his mind. But now he realised that the Seelie High King's words were true. In the Unseelie kingdoms, the penalty for working with the Seelie court was death, and while his father may have been a rather cruel man whom Jordan found he often did not see eye to eye, he did not wish to be responsible for his own father's death.

And if Jareth was as attached to this girl as Jordan assumed, he had no doubt that the death would be long and slow.

Jordan dropped his head like a scolded child, "I understand Sire."

Oberon tipped his head back in frustration and sighed. He was never one capable of hanging on to anger for long, and in seeing the young man's crestfallen state his fury and resentment seemed to leave him in an instant. He was still angry, but perhaps he shared some of the blame in this case as well. Perhaps he had just over-estimated the boy's capabilities. Perhaps he had asked too much.

"All right," Oberon finally said, resuming a more regal position on the throne. "All right, this is what you have to do. I have been informed that Jareth is still in the Marshland areas so we still have some time to correct this. I will have another potion made for you, one that will connect you with the one you left behind. You will use this potion to return this girl back where you found her. Remove all traces of me or of you from that room, and then present your father with an excuse to leave Goblin Kingdom. You will then return home. Whether I will contact you afterwards is something I will need to..."

"Wait." Jordan objected hastily. There was a simultaneous draw of breath in the room; no one had ever dared interrupt the king.

Oberon regarded Jordan with a harsh glare as Jordan hastily began speaking to fill the heavy awful silence.

"I can't just take her back. I took her after eight in the evening; that's when she is given her dinner and retires for the night, but the goblins always come back at half-seven in the morning-"

"Your point?" Oberon inquired in a strained irritated voice.

"-It's past half seven. The goblins will already know she wasn't in her room. They would have seen the smashed vial of magic. They would have told someone. They will already know about you, and most likely me as well."

Oberon gave an exasperated huff. "I doubt that Jordan. My magic is extremely potent but very well concealed. If it wasn't, anyone would have sensed you were carrying it around in your pocket for the past few weeks in case someone actually discovered who you were, and you needed a quick exit. Only someone with great power could determine that the magic in the vial was mine. Something I doubt either goblins or palace guards possess. You will take the girl back."

"But if I take her back now, she'll still be blamed. And he'll punish her. He'll hurt her I'm sure of it."

Oberon stared at the young man in bewilderment. "Jordan, from what __you've__ told me, the girl had her own suite and servants. She sounds like rather a privileged slave to me."

Jordan's mind searched frantically for a counter argument. "Ask Dastle. I told him to find out where the girl was being held. He found the goblins that tended to her, he heard about some of the things the Goblin King has done to her!"

"So you used my spy for your own personal errands?" Oberon inquired in a dangerously low voice; the conversation between the pair was slowly turning the room to ice. Neither willing to back down, as the small assembled crowd watched on.

Jordan looked into Oberon's eyes and pleaded desperately, "Please just ask him about it."

Oberon dragged a gloved hand down his face and threw his head back again. With all the grace and poise of a High King, he slumped in his throne as though he were a father dealing with a particularly stubborn child. He turned his palms up to the air briefly in a small sign of resignation before calling for Dastle.

Instantly a small bright light shimmered into existence between the two men. The small glow flared and dimmed like fire as the little pixie shimmered to life. The blue man immediately flew to his king who had his palm open for him. The pixie smiled at his king.

The king scraped a smile for the tiny being. "Dastle, would you please tell me what young Jordan here had you do for him this week?" He asked gently. Whatever anger he was feeling towards Jordan at this point, pixies were delicate creatures that needed to be handled with kindness and extreme care.

The little pixie smiled and flew towards the king's ear. The silent spectators and Jordan watched the king's face as he absorbed all the pixies knowledge. The High King had a special way with the creatures. It was intriguing to watch.

After several moments of nodding his head along to things no one else in the room could hear, the king asked quietly, "And the girl?"

Jordan tensed slightly as he watched the little blue man tell the king all he had told him about what happened to the girl. The pixie, apparently, had been to anxious to tell Jordan the girl's name, for he had heard bad fortune visited everyone who used it. The pixie had, however, told Jordan all he had heard the goblins speaking about when they thought no one was listening.

Jordan knew the girl was kept as a prisoner. He knew she had been chained to the bed and locked in the room. He knew she was terrified of the Goblin King, and yet the picture of horror on her face when he had told her she wasn't in his kingdom anymore, was still branded in Jordan's mind. He had been sure she would be happy. Or at least relieved. He didn't understand.

Everyone in the room watched as the king's stance seemed to deflate as he listened to the blue being glowing near his ear. Obviously Dastle was telling Oberon everything he had told Jordan the girl had endured, and Jordan hoped Oberon would understand.

He nodded, briefly, and offered a thank you and a smile to the man. The pixie glowed with pride and then vanished once more. Oberon pinched the bridge of his nose again and closed his eyes briefly before turning his gaze back to Jordan. He spoke with a heavy, sombre tone.

"Fine. So she's a human slave. It doesn't change the fact that you took the girl against her will, or that she has been begging to be returned to the Goblin Kingdom since the magic wore off. How can you be so sure she even wanted to be saved? If __save__ her was truly what you did, why isn't she at least thankful?"

Jordan didn't have definitive answers to those questions, he had been asking them himself, but he felt like he needed to justify his actions somehow; he really couldn't stand that look of disappointment in Oberon's eyes.

"I'm not sure," he admitted, "Maybe she thinks this is all just a set up. Maybe she thinks that Jareth staged all this to test her loyalty. Maybe she thinks that we want to hurt her, and at least in Goblin City, she knows what level of abuse to expect, I don't know..."

"That's right, you __don't__ know." Oberon interrupted, reaching the near end of his rope. "You took this girl for no reason at all, and in doing so exposed yourself and me, quite possibly putting everyone else like you in danger. You were foolish and acted foolishly. You will return this girl. You will remove all traces of my magic and you will leave for the Marshlands as soon as you can. Whether I choose to contact you afterwards is my choice, but right now I am thinking that perhaps I should have approached someone more competent to begin with."

"But... but she knows things. About Jareth, about his kingdom. She could be of use to you..."

"Enough!" Oberon bellowed, standing suddenly from his throne. Jordan took an involuntary step back. "You will do as you are told. I will create the magic possible for you to return this girl to that kingdom undetected and you will wait in your chambers until it is ready. You will take this girl back. That is the end of it!" And with that Oberon turned and promptly exited the Throne Room in a fit of frustration. His personal advisor and a few guards promptly followed at a discrete pace. Jordan was left standing in the Throne Room virtually alone. He lowered his head. The disappointment and shame he felt could almost be manifested. He respected Oberon a great deal, had been honoured to be chosen to work for him, and now he had gone and messed everything up.

He didn't want to disappoint the king further, but one thing was for sure; he could not, and would not, take the girl back.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah cried until there were no more tears to cry. She almost couldn't comprehend what was happening. She didn't know why she was taken, or who had taken her, or what they wanted from her, but in reality she really could not have cared less. The only horror swimming through her mind right now was what was going to happen once Jareth realised she was gone.

She had to get back to him. She just had to.

Sarah heard footsteps outside the room she was in and froze. Her ear was pressed right up to the door, straining to hear something. When she heard the footsteps stop, she used what little energy she had left to lift herself away from the door before she heard the click of a lock.

She watched through tired eyes as the duke's son re-entered the room, but was put on alert almost at once at how urgent the boy seemed to appear.

Jordan moved slightly into the room, held his hand out for her and said quickly; "We have to get out of here! Now!"


	7. Part Three - Chapter Two

****Part Three****

****Chapter Two****

The negotiations between King Steven and King Cedric of the Marshlands seemed to be taking forever.

Jareth knew he was being melodramatic but with each passing day as the situation between the two kingdoms went unresolved; Jareth couldn't help but crave to return to his kingdom.

Of course he knew why he felt that way. Jareth rolled over and touched the empty side of the bed beside him.

He could almost smell her there.

It was absurd of course, Sarah had never been to this kingdom, let alone stayed in the luxury guest suite of King Cedric's castle; but that didn't change the fact that he could still feel her.

He had never been away from her for this long; ever since he had gotten her back, there hadn't been a single day he hadn't been with her in one way or another. He could almost taste her lips moving with his, smell the scent of her hair; feel her skin against his own.

It was quarter to six in the evening. Too early to sleep, but Jareth was too restless to concentrate on anything else. So he simply lie there, wishing the negotiations would end tomorrow so he could return to his precious, lock the doors and not come out for at least three days.

He smirked slightly at the thought.

Jareth almost jumped when he heard knocking on the door. Reluctantly, he lifted himself from the bed and opened it to face one of the palace messengers.

"This came for you Sire." She said, holding out a scroll with the wax sealed owl icon of his own kingdom. He took it and closed the door without another word to the woman.

He thought it odd that someone from his kingdom had messaged him. He had left clear instructions, had told them not to disturb him in case of a strict emergency. He had only been gone a week; what could have possibly happened?

Jareth waved his hand and the scroll unfastened; he unrolled the scroll and read the short message, his eyes hardening on the very first line.

Down the hall, the woman messenger made it almost to the staircase before she heard the king's bone shattering roar of rage. She smiled.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Titania sat on the garden bench watching some of the maids children play. She watched with an endearing, indulgent smile as the children ran and laughed and sang with one another. This was a favourite pastime of hers, despite the sadness it also brought her.

Titania, like many Fae, was incapable of having children. Most Fae maidens were born barren, their immortal bodies unable to carry life within. She had almost been resentful when she discovered two maids in her employment – sisters – had both fallen pregnant within months of each other. But the resentment soon passed as she watched the children grow and thrive on her estate. She had even seen the two maids were given appropriate help with raising the children.

"My queen." A voice called softly behind her as she felt the gentle pressure of lips against her neck. Titania leaned into her husband's embrace.

"How are you?" Oberon asked, watching the children with as much fondness as Titania had been.

"I'm just fine." Titania replied. Though the slight sad twinge in her voice gave away much of her true feelings. She rushed the conversation along. "And you? I heard you were dealing with the duke's son today. How did it go?"

Oberon suspected his wife's motivation for derailing his inquiry but didn't hold it against her. She had held this sadness inside her for quite some time. He sighed heavily and moved to sit beside her on the elaborate marble bench.

"Fine as well I suppose. I truly thought I could rely on him to see this through to the end. Perhaps the boy simply wasn't ready."

Titania turned her head slightly to the side. She was discouraged by the disappointment in her husband's voice. She knew Oberon had seen a little of himself in young Jordan, and was disheartened by the boys actions.

"You expected him to do better than the others?" She asked gently, taking her husband's hand.

"I expected him to show better judgement. Risking his life, __all__ our lives, for the sake of one mortal girl? It's almost too difficult to believe."

Titania tried to cover the small pouting smile that formed, but couldn't help it's exposer on her lips. "Young love." She sighed.

Oberon's gaze turned quizzical at that. "Love? That's absurd. He barely knows the girl. He took her from the kingdom against her will and seemed insistent to the point of lunacy on convincing me to let him keep her here against her will. It was madness."

Titania squeezed his hand gently. "Love and madness; one in the same. I saw the girl when he first brought her here. When he appeared with her in the Throne Room. She was beautiful. Sometimes... that is all it takes for a young man to lose his head."

Oberon was beginning to become amusingly irritated by his wife's words. It was almost impossible to make her angry, or get her to lose her temper. She was always so oddly calm about everything. Most of the time, it was soothing. Others, like now, it drove him almost to the point of picking a fight. But Oberon would never take his kingdom's frustrations out on her. She may have been his queen, and almost as involved in the politics of the kingdoms as he was, but she was a gentle soul, and preferred only to discuss matters as grim as war when absolutely necessary.

The king was searching for a new topic of discussion with his wife, not content to leave her be just yet, when the loud voice of one of his messengers cried, "Your Majesty!"

Oberon was instantly put on alert by the urgency in the man's voice.

He stood from the bench, Titania leaned forward, concerned. The messenger in similar apparel to the castle guards stopped a respectful distance from the king, and bowed at the waist. Several invisible guards watched as the man panted and rushed to deliver his news.

"Your Majesty, I was instructed to deliver a potion to the duke's son by the brewer, but when I went to the boy's room, he was not there! And the human girl is missing as well!"

"What?!" Oberon demanded, his sudden calm overwhelmed by a wave of fury. Titania stood, several of the guards stepped closer.

"What should we do my king?" Titania questioned, her voice aghast.

Oberon turned to her, and Titania was shocked at the black rage shining from his eyes.

"Jordan has betrayed me. We will find them, bring them back, and he will be tried for treason." Oberon declared harshly.

The children played on oblivious.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

"__Say it." Jareth said, his tenderness shredding the last scrap of her resolve.__

__Sarah whimpered piteously and looking at the ground finally spoke the words she knew he longed to hear; "I belong to you."__

"__Say it again." He ordered, and Sarah could have sworn she heard the faint smile in his voice; a smile of victory.__

"__I belong to you." She conceded again, feeling yet another slow running tear drag down her cheek.__

"__Again." His command rung with finality.__

"__I belong to you." She snivelled in defeat. It was done. It was over. He had broken her. __

Sarah woke, and took only moments to remember where she was and how she got there. Without even thinking, Sarah launched herself to her feet and started running blindly through the night. She didn't get far before he stopped her. She hadn't gotten far every time she had tried.

"Please stop." He beseeched her calmly, holding her thrashing body close to his until she finally stilled. Sarah hated this extra human strength the Fae seemed to possess. Like all the other times, she sagged in her captor's arms and burst into tears. Jordan dropped to the ground with her, unable or unwilling to let her go.

He didn't understand.

He cursed his own ignorance for the millionth time. Ever since he had taken her from the castle, she had been fighting to get away. He had told her that the High King wanted to return her to Goblin City, and now was profoundly regretting that choice, for every time he so much as looked the other way she was attempting to run back in the direction they had came.

It seemed there were many things he had to admit he didn't know. He didn't know why she was trying so hard to return to Goblin City, he didn't know why she seemed to see him as the villain in this whole affair, and most importantly, he still didn't know __why__ he cared.

He had just betrayed the Seelie __High King __for this girl. He should be frantic over his own actions. Over the __consequences__ of those actions. Instead; his head was full of nothing but her.

When her crying finally ceased, he gently led her back to the fire-pit they had been sleeping around before. Or she had been sleeping around. Jordan, on the other hand, couldn't get to sleep. He was troubled. Deeply troubled. In truth he had no idea what he was doing. They were still in Oberon's kingdom. They were travelling on foot to gods knew where, and every time his guard was down, the person he had sacrificed everything to save, attempted to escape him as though he were some plague ridden monstrosity.

He sat the girl back near the fire where she slumped on the ground and hugged her knees. He knew her tear-swollen eyes were following him as he moved around the fire he had built and sat on the ground opposite her.

She was __glaring__ at him. Though there was no real anger behind her eyes. He sensed she may have been too tired to express anger. There was only a sad kind of hopelessness that made it difficult for Jordan to make eye contact with her. Instead he prodded the flaming logs of wood with a small stick to keep the fire burning.

"Will you at least tell me your name?" Jordan finally said. He had attempted to get her name from her several times since that morning, but so far his efforts had been fruitless. She refused to speak a single word to him, just glowered at him brokenly whenever he chased her down.

Just as she was doing now.

Sarah simply continued to glare through watery eyes. She didn't understand what was happening, but she was starting to believe she was cursed. What __exactly__ was it about her that seemed to attract crazy fae? She couldn't believe this guy. She had thought him to be harmless. In the garden the first time they had spoken, he seemed sweet. A little ignorant, a little unsure, but sweet. __Genuinely__ sweet. Now..?

Her life was at stake, __everything__ was at stake. Did this man not understand the consequences should she not return to the Goblin Kingdom in time?

__It might help if you __told __him.__ A small sliver of her mind lectured.__ Just tell him why you need to go back, you really think that he, that __anyone,__ wouldn't understand?__

Sarah closed her eyes and turned her head at the thought. She couldn't. She couldn't put into words the reasons for forcing herself to return to that monster. Not to a complete stranger. Not to anyone.

She took a moment to bitterly laugh in her own mind. She had spent over a year wishing for freedom. __Pleading__ for it, and now she was as close as she had ever been and all she was doing was trying her hardest to run right back into the arms of the man who had stripped it from her in the first place.

What a cruel sick ironic joke her life had turned out to be.

Sarah was scared out of her thought process as Jordan suddenly threw the stick violently into the flames of the fire, causing it to burst with sudden energy for moments before dyeing down again.

"Why won't you talk to me? Do you even understand the __risks__ I am taking here? The __risks__ I took to save you?! I committed __treason__ in __two separate kingdoms,__ all for you, and you're looking at me like I committed the worst possible crime in the worlds! Why won't you just tell me what's really happening, maybe I can help..."

"Who asked for your help?!" Sarah suddenly burst out, matching his irritation, shocking Jordan into silence. Jordan had never heard her speak so forcefully before, but Sarah was too furious to even feel surprised. She wiped her tears angrily away from her face to keep the man, __Jordan__, in better focus as she continued to rant as though she were letting dogs run from a leash they had been confined to for years.

"I didn't __ask__ you to commit treason, I didn't __ask__ you to save me and I sure as __hell__ didn't ask you to take me out of Goblin City! Now just take me __back__! You think that I've been a pain in the ass up until now? If you continue to keep me with you against my will I will make your life a living fucking hell! I will make sure you __never__ get another second of rest. And the moment, the __moment__ you close your eyes, I am going to run right back to that castle, right back to that king that actually __wants__ to take me where I need to go, and before I __do__ leave, I'll make damn sure that they know __exactly__ where to find you, so they can charge your ass with treason and whatever punishment comes with it!"

Sarah stopped suddenly, needing to catch her breath. __Wow__, she was momentarily stunned; __where in the __hell __did __that __come from? __She couldn't remember speaking so forcefully to anyone in... Forever. She had never even spoken to __Jareth__ in that way. Not even in her first few weeks of captivity, when she was still in pain but not completely broken.

It was almost as though she had felt her old self, the girl she had been before all this pain and misery, rise up inside her for one solid minute. To be honest the sensation was more scary then it was comforting, and she immediately retreated back into her shell of vulnerability. Hugging her knees to her chest and facing the dirt forest floor.

When she finally had the courage to raise her gaze to the man again, she was slightly confused by his look of awe.

Despite the venom in her words, the anger behind her threats, Jordan actually felt like grinning from ear to ear in response to her outburst. Her rant, at least, proved that she was not in fact some brainwashed servant he was beginning to worry she really was. She __did__ have fire. She __did__ have spirit and she __did__ have rage. Even if that rage was directed at him right now, it was a start.

"I knew you were hiding in there somewhere." He said quietly, and smugly.

Sarah's eyes expressed more confusion and outrage then she had ever felt.

"Who __are__ you?" She finally demanded to know, as though she was looking at an alien, or some undiscovered animal.

Jordan smiled a small genuine smile. "You know my name. What's yours?"

Sarah turned her head away from his inquiry stubbornly. Jordan smirked slightly at her increasing displays of defiance.

"Well, it seems we are at an impasse. I want answers, you want answers. So how about we take turns? You answer one of my questions and I answer one of yours?"

Sarah made no effort to speak, just continued to stare at him with those unwaveringly piercing green eyes. He decided to take her silence as a green light.

"I'll go first then. What is your name?" He asked simply.

Sarah hesitated before finally just deciding to simply humour the man.

"Sarah. My name is Sarah." She huffed begrudgingly.

Jordan savoured the information for a moment. "Okay Sarah," Jordan practically caressed the name, "Your turn."

Sarah decided to start with the obvious. "Why did you take me out of Goblin City?"

Jordan cocked his head to the side. __Doesn't she know by now__? "Because I thought you needed help."

"Well I don't! I don't need help! So just take me back! Why are you keeping me here?"

"It's my turn Sarah."

Sarah glared but made an irritated gesture with her hand that he should continue.

"Why do you want to go back?"

There was silence for a moment, and Jordan watched as Sarah dropped her gaze from his, then leaned her body back on her hands with her head thrown back. Finally she said, her voice thick with resignation, "It's complicated."

"That's not an answer." Jordan protested quickly.

"Well it's the only one I've got!" She countered, feeling the momentarily at bay tears prick her eyes again. "Why do you care?" She asked hotly.

Jordan answered her honestly. "I don't know."

"_T_hat's__ not an answer!" Sarah declared.

"It's the only one I've got." He repeated her previous words with a small smile.

Sarah leapt to her feet in irritation. "You think this is __funny__!" She questioned shrilly, looking at his face. "There is nothing __funny__ about this? Don't you get it? I don't __want__ to be here, I don't __want__ to be with you, I just want to go back to the Goblin Kingdom. That's all. Why is it so difficult for you to understand?!"

"Maybe I'd understand a little better if you told me why you __want__ to go back." Jordan countered, just as hotly. He was slightly enjoying sparring with her, but the genuine panic in her voice, in her eyes, sobered him somewhat. He only wanted to figure her out.

Sarah threw herself back to the dirt floor in a huff. How could she put this situation into words? How could she make him listen?!

"Look, I understand..."

"Don't! __Don't you dare__!" Sarah growled. Jordan was caught slightly off guard by the anger and the sorrow in her voice. Sarah raised her head to glare at the man, everything on her face reflecting her burning rage.

"Don't you dare tell me you __understand__! Have __you__ ever been tortured by the Goblin King?" She questioned sarcastically, Jordan's look of shock did nothing to halt her words. "Have you ever been tortured at all?" Jordan's eyes were wide, and he hesitated fractionally before shaking his head in the negative, his face almost matching the despair on her own.

"Then don't tell me you __understand__ what it was like in that place. What it was like for __me__!"

There was silence for a moment before Jordan decided to pursue her sudden burst of honesty. "Then forgive me Sarah, but if that place was so horrible, so awful, why in gods name do you want to go back?!"

Sarah slumped, her whole body surrendering to the brokenness she felt within. She wiped the bottom of her eyes to halt any new tears, her earlier fire dying as suddenly as it was stoked.

"I don't __want__ to." She finally admitted sadly, "I __have__ to."

Jordan stared at her in absolute bewilderment. She looked so sad, so utterly defeated it made his own heart ache. __What does she mean__? __Will she tell me if I ask__? __She doesn't __want __to be in Goblin City, she simply feels like she has an __obligation __to be there?__ A reluctant obligation by the look of pure misery Jordan saw on her face. Her bottom lip was trembling as though she was fighting the breach of tears with all her might, she was rubbing her hands in a self comforting gesture, and rocking slightly back and forth from where she crouched hugging her knees.

It was getting darker. It was almost fully dark, but Jordan could plainly see her look of absolute defeat. He swallowed.

"Tell me." He implored quietly. Sarah raised her gaze to his, and was caught off guard by how truly concerned he seemed to be for her. She could only shake her head.

Jordan huffed in irritation, pulling his grey leather gloves from his hands and fiddling with them as he always did when frustrated.

__What is it with fae and gloves__, Sarah thought distantly and she continued to watch him. It seemed that every fae she had ever come across wore gloves pretty much all the time. She had never even been curious about it. She wondered why she would even be curious over such an insignificant thing now.

"Why?" He asked her solemnly, forcing her concentration back to the conversation. "I mean, I know you don't know me, you don't know my intentions, but I swear on the blood of my elders that I could never, and would never, harm you. I know you don't want to be in Goblin City, by your own admission, so just tell me why. Then maybe I can do something to help you."

The lock on Sarah's tear ducts finally broke and salty water began streaming down her face once more. Though Jareth had always continuously claimed to love her, Sarah knew he had never truly __cared__ for her. This man... she didn't know him. Who he was or where he came from or what he really wanted, and yet he was showing her more compassion then she had been shown in what felt like a lifetime. It hurt more than anything else, because she knew that she couldn't depend on it. Even though something deep in her soul told her he was being genuine when he told her he could never hurt her, she couldn't keep this feeling of safety. She needed to return to a place of terrible anguish and pain. She couldn't lose control of her emotions, she couldn't get soft: not now.

"You can't." She eventually declared, dragging her hands down her face in an effort to fight the tears. Jordan's gaze was unrelenting. "You can't help. No one can. All you can do is what I ask. Please. If you truly mean what you say, you'll take me back, and you'll forget all about me."

Jordan watched, stunned. Her words were so quiet, so heartbroken, yet they held a conviction he had only ever heard maybe once or twice in his lifetime. It seemed she had more strength then he could have ever given her credit for. Whatever was happening underneath this mystery, forcing herself to return to someone who had obviously caused her so much pain, __tortured__ her, by her own admittance, took a kind of courage Jordan had not thought possible.

Then, and only then, did it strike Jordan that Jareth must have threatened to do something __terrible__ to her should she ever even __dare__ attempt to leave his kingdom. But he didn't fully understand that either. He knew he wasn't exactly inspiring confidence in her about the future, he didn't even know what they were going to do or where they could go next, but she was still free from him. Was she worried about what he would do to her if he got her back, and returning to him with the excuse of being kidnapped would result in a less severe punishment? He needed to get the truth out of her, whether it hurt her to tell him or not.

"What did he do to you?" He finally asked. Jordan figured he must have done something. Something awful. Something that made her act like she was a loyal subject to the king. And with as much hatred as she seemed to be showing for the man now, Jordan could only assume that whatever it was, it must have damaged her almost beyond repair.

Sarah played with her fingers. She had sworn she would never tell anyone. Never think about it. Never dwell on that memory again. She couldn't stand the thought of dragging this memory out of the dark hole she had stuffed it into, but then, the choice may not have been hers any longer. Maybe, if this man understood, maybe if she told him the truth to __make__ him understand, maybe then he would finally concede to her wishes and bring her back to the place she loathed, but knew she needed to be.

After a long, pregnant pause Sarah finally dragged enough cold air into her lungs to say, "Not to me."

Jordan snapped his eyes to hers; confused by the ambiguity around those three little words she had spoken.

"What do you mean?" He asked hesitantly.

"It wasn't what he did... to __me__." She said slowly, emphasizing 'me' as though the word answered all the questions in the world.

Jordan stared on, ignorant, but knowing he was finally going to get to the truth.

"What happened?"

* * *

****OHHHHHHH! Don't you just HATE me for ending the chapter there?! But don't worry; the next one will be along in another week. Until Friday peeps. R&amp;R. Peace out. ****


	8. Part Three - Chapter Three

****Part Three****

****Chapter Three****

__After a long, pregnant pause Sarah finally dragged enough cold air into her lungs to say, "Not to me." __

__Jordan snapped his eyes to hers, confused by the ambiguity around those three little words she had spoken. __

"__What do you mean?" He asked hesitantly. __

"__It wasn't what he did... to me." She said slowly, emphasizing 'me' as though the word answered all the questions in the world. __

__Jordan stared on, ignorant, but knowing he was finally going to get to the truth. __

"__What happened?"__

"I don't know when it happened, I don't really have a sense of time and don't even know how long I was there before that night, but I'm guessing it must have been at least a good few months.

"You see, until recently, I was being held in an underground cell, had been for most of the year I've been in the Goblin Kingdom, and, well, goblins used to deliver food to me through a gap in the door. One night one of the stupider goblins actually opened the door to bring the food in. I didn't know what I was thinking, I didn't even really __think__, I just reacted. I rushed him and locked him in the cell, and then I just ran. Gods knows how I managed to get far at all. I was in nothing but a robe, I wasn't even wearing shoes, but I made it through the castle and pass the city gates without even stopping. I actually think I was doing rather well," She said with almost half a smile touching her lips, but then her expression darkened with the memory that was haunting her, "But of course, he found me."

Sarah shuddered, scenes from that night coming to her as though she were seeing it all play in a dream. A nightmare. "When I saw that look on his face..." She whispered, and shivered, remembering.

Jordan was watching her cautiously, afraid and intrigued by the stunning look of distress on her face as she spoke. He didn't say a word, not wanting to interrupt her and risk her stopping her story before she finally told him the real reason she was so afraid of Jareth.

"He summoned the chain that normally comes out of the collar around my ankle whenever he wants, and he used it to trip me and pull me back towards him. I was terrified, I don't think I've ever felt fear like I did on that night, and don't think I ever will again. The second he got his hands on me, he took us back to the castle and I was back in chains again. He use to chain me to the ceiling and whip me when he wanted to teach me a lesson, but this time was different. The room was so dark when we appeared and I was so scared, it took me a while to realise he had forced me on my knees and chained me to the ground. That should have been my first clue that this punishment was going to be more severe then any of the others, but I was so afraid I couldn't even think. I couldn't believe what I had done, that I had been stupid enough to think I could out run him in his own kingdom. When I was finally brave enough to look at his face... I expected him to be angry, to see rage or even loathing, but his expression... he just looked so... __calm__."

Sarah's eyes watered with fresh tears and her voice faltered. She was slightly surprised at how easy it was to talk about this. She had believed she would never need speak or think of what had happened that night again, but for some reason telling Jordan seemed to make the task easier. She took a deep, steadying breath and continued recounting her tale.

"It frightened me more than words can express to see that look on his face when I knew how angry he must have been. It meant... the fact that he was so calm meant that he had made some kind of decision. Like he had been pondering the best kind of lesson to teach and now, he was finally going to use it. When he spoke he sounded completely emotionless, 'So you thought you could escape from me did you? Just randomly stagger through my labyrinth in the dark until you found a way out? I'm almost... disappointed.'

She shivered again as she repeated his words, the cold, emptiness in them had froze her stiff as ice, and she wrapped her arms around her chest as though trying to defend herself against the invisible cold.

"He sounded so... __casual__, the way he spoke. Almost like a normal person and he had me cringing and shaking with every word anyway. He started pacing around me, and I couldn't tear my eyes from his. They were so cold. __Calculating__. I was so scared I could barely focus on his words. 'I had hoped I'd be able to teach you obedience with less harsher methods, but it appears... I was mistaken.' Sarah sniffled, slowly recalling the harsh memory she had tried so hard to bury. She cleared her throat and continued.

"I couldn't even really place the tone of his voice. But for a moment, I even thought he sounded a little... __regretful__. And for him to sound that way I knew he was planning something __awful__. Something so much worse then physical abuse. I wanted to reason with him. I tried so hard to get my fear under control, to plead with him, or beg him not to do whatever he was thinking of doing. But I could barely breathe.

"He touched me. Bent down in front of me and reached out his hand and I cringed, expecting his fury, expecting him to slap me or... something like that. But all he did was stroke my cheek. I was shocked to see an almost... __tenderness__ in his eyes, and for a moment I hoped that he was reconsidering whatever he was thinking of doing, but the second I had that hope, all hope was shattered. I could see the determination in his eyes. Then he grabbed my chin roughly and held my gaze as he spoke again. His voice was empty, devoid of any emotion, 'Whatever happens next Sarah, just know, __you__ did this.' And that was all he said before he vanished.

"I waited for him to come back, I knew he wasn't just gone, but I had no idea why he had left. He had never just __left__. And then the candles in the walls suddenly burst to life and the room was brighter and I flinched at every shadow. He had never turned on the lights before either, which meant that whatever he was going to do, he wanted me to get a good look. Which made sense, because that's when he came back. But he wasn't alone."

And here was where Sarah had to stop. The pain and agony of the memory making her gasp for air as though she were choking. Jordan stayed close, wanting to comfort her somehow but also knowing she wasn't ready to be touched. Sarah hugged her legs to her chest tighter and wiped her face on the flowing fabric of the dress, staining it slightly with the weight of her tears.

Jordan desperately wanted to know what it was Jareth had done to reduce her to this state. He could only imagine the kind of person she must have been before she had been touched by all this evil. He had seen little pieces of her fire, her light, but he also detected a deep sorrow and darkness plaguing her. From her story he deduced that she had never truly submitted to Jareth, she had fought against him, even with how strong he was and how much power he possessed, she had fought. But now she was telling a tale of just how far Jareth had gone to teach her a lesson for her defiance.

He looked at her tear stained face as she stared emptily into the fire, thinking how sorry he was that he had never known the person she was before Jareth had ruined her life. He knew that she must have been even more beautiful. She didn't deserve the pain that glittered in her eyes.

"Who was with him?" He finally worked up the courage to ask, his voice hoarse and rusty from how long he had been silent as she talked. She looked up at him slowly, a little startled, as though she had forgotten there was even another person with her. For a while he was afraid she wouldn't answer. The silence dragged as her bottom lip quivered like she was trying her hardest not to cry. He wanted to tell her it was okay. To give her any kind of comfort, but he knew those words would be nothing but patronising. Of course it wasn't okay. What ever he had done to her had completely shattered her to pieces. When she finally spoke again, her voice held an eerie calm that somewhat startled him.

In barely a whisper Sarah answered his inquiry; "My brother."

Jordan's gaze shot to hers so fast it made his head spin. What ever he had been expecting, it hadn't been __that__.

__Brother__? He thought desperately. __She has a brother?__ Was __that__ why she wanted to go back so badly, because he had left her brother behind? He tried to catch her gaze, for her to confirm or deny this fear but she simply continued to stare brokenly into the flames before her, watching it dance as though mesmerised.

Then she spoke again, her voice thick with her sobs and sorrow.

"He was only four then, and I'll never forget that look on his face. He was so confused; too young to understand the danger he was in. Jareth was holding him by the shoulder and I looked at his face and it was so... __still__. __Serene__. And in that second I knew what he was going to do, and I think I must have screamed, or begged him not to, but he didn't listen. The next thing I heard was the snap."

She stopped, catching her breath, blinking the stinging tears from her eyes. She had tried so hard to bury this memory. Push it down and shove other things over it and forget it had ever happened. It was the thing that broke her. Stole the last ounce of strength from her body. All her will to resist. As he had well known it would. She continued her tale in sharp gasps, knowing that she couldn't stop now. As painful as it was to recall this memory, she felt like she had to get this poison out of her bloodstream. Jordan watched on, horrified.

"Jareth snapped his neck like it was nothing. It was the most __horrible__ sound. My brother was so small, so helpless... young; and in that single second, on the whim of another, his life was completely snuffed out.

"Jareth just dropped him to the ground at his feet like he was worthless. I wanted to run, run from what had happened, run from what he had done but I couldn't. That was why he tied me to the ground, so I couldn't run. He left without another word, leaving me chained next to Toby's dead body: and I cried. I must have cried for hours. He was just lying there, right in front of me and he looked so still, so peaceful, he could have been sleeping." She took in a deep ragged breath. "But he wasn't, he was dead. Gone. Everything he was, everything he could have been, it was just gone, and as much as I blamed Jareth I knew it was my fault to. Jareth killed him because of me. To prove his power to me. To __get__ to me. He was so obsessed with me he was willing to kill a defenceless child just to prove his __point__!"

Sarah spat the last word hatefully, her eyes finally shining with the fire Jordan had known was buried under all of her pretence. He silently rejoiced at the display of defiance, it meant that no matter what she had said, she was not loyal to Jareth, as her king or anything else. When she spoke again, her voice was more natural, almost as though she was relieved to finally be telling someone, anyone, what had happened to her.

And he realised that was probably true. From all he had learnt about her servitude in the Goblin Kingdom, she had no friends. Not even the goblins that tended her room were allowed to speak with her. The only one she could ever talk to was Jareth, and even then, she could probably only tell him what he wanted to hear.

When she spoke again, she sounded tired, the memory and the pain behind it weighing heavily on her shoulders.

"I don't know how long I was there, but I all but ran out of tears. I just stared at him. His sweet face. He would never smile again, or laugh. He had been taken, not just from me, but from the world. And that's when I finally broke. I just didn't care anymore. About anything. I didn't even care if I ever made it out of that dungeon alive. Our bodies could rot together for all eternity and I just didn't care. And that was when he came back."

Sarah let out a heavy sigh of resignation.

"Like he __knew__. Of course he knew. He knew everything about me, and he knew that taking Toby was absolutely the worst thing he could have done. And its kind of funny," she said without humour, 'Because up until that point I was always so terrified whenever I saw him, but, after all that had happened, like I said, I just didn't care.

"And that's when he knelt down and put his hand on Toby's forehead. As defeated as I was I still wanted to scream at him not to touch him, but I didn't have the energy. I could only watch, and as I watched, I started to see light... light coming __from__ Jareth's fingertips, going directly __into__ Toby.'

She paused, and made direct eye contact with Jordan for the first time since the start of her tale. He stared back at her with shock and confusion as a look of almost wonder washed over her tear stained face.

'I watched the light slowly come back into Toby's face and I knew Jareth had brought him back to life. I had never even thought such a thing was possible. I mean, I knew he was powerful but I didn't know he could bring people back from the __dead__. The relief and happiness I felt in that moment was so intense it made me feel sick. That was, until I looked back up at Jareth's face.

"It was still so cold, so calculating. And I realised what this whole thing had been about. It was meant as a lesson. He didn't bring Toby back to life out of pity or regret; he did it to prove his power to me. He said, 'This only happened to teach you something precious. That your actions have consequences, and sometimes it is not you who has to pay those consequences. The only reason I was able to bring your brother here is because he has been here before. Because of the wish __you__ made. It was also the reason I was able to bring him back to life.' Then he crouched down beside me and took my chin in his hand, and he said, 'The next time you betray my trust in you, I will not bother bringing him back. So I pray you do not make there a next time. Understand?'

"And after witnessing the lengths he was willing to go to make me his, I did understand. I understood that I'd never be free. I realised I had to stop fighting. I __had__ to submit, I couldn't be who I was anymore. And I knew it would be hard, but I also knew I never wanted to experience the pain of losing Toby again. So I nodded, I nodded that I understood his words, and then he picked Toby up from the ground and vanished with him. And I was glad. Toby wouldn't remember anything, he would probably only think it a dream. And he would be safe. My parents would mourn me, I knew, but they would move on from the pain eventually, and they'd always have Toby. I could at least make sure of that.

"When he came back, he unchained me and took me to his chambers and held me in his arms while I cried."

Sarah took another brake in the story to take another deep, desperately needed breath. She remembered that night in almost high definition, even though she had tried her hardest to forget.

She had sobbed for hours in his arms while he did nothing but hold her silently. She was mourning the person she was, and the person she had to let go. She couldn't fight him anymore. If it was only her safety she knew she never would have accepted defeat, even if it meant a lifetime of being whipped and chained, she always would have fought him. But her pride wasn't worth the life of her baby brother. Or indeed anyone else she loved.

When she had finally stopped crying, to exhausted to even move, that was when he had spoken again.

'I regret the lesson I had to teach you this night precious.' He had whispered tenderly. Stroking over her arms in motions that were meant to be comforting. But she felt repulsed. Repulsed that he could touch her and just apologise after what he had done. The old her would have told him just how much he sickened her, but she couldn't. She needed to let the defiant part of her go. She no longer had the will to fight and now she knew she would never be free, she had nothing to fight for.

She remembered clinging to his shirt and whimpering, 'I'm sorry I ran.' It was the truth in its plainest; she was sorry she had ran and she was sorry for the price that had been paid. Even though Toby was safe, the sight of him so lifeless would surely haunt her for the rest of eternity. Eternity. That was how long this nightmare would go on.

She would never be free.

He had only tightened his hold on her, squeezing his arms around her waist and whispering, 'I know precious. I know.'

They had spent the rest of the night like that until she was too exhausted to keep her eyes open. She had known that when she woke, the next day would change everything.

"That night changed everything." She told Jordan, finishing her thoughts aloud. "I've never fought against him since. And even though I know he's not stupid, I think there's at least a part of him that believes I love him. That I let myself love him so I wouldn't have to live in pain."

"But you don't love him, do you?" Jordan asked hesitantly.

Sarah's raw eyes turned sharp and showed a little defiance once more. "No. No I don't. He's a monster." And just as suddenly as the spark of defiance had come, it passed; replaced with anguish so deep it hurt Jordan to look at her. She raised pleading eyes at the duke's son as she spoke again.

"And that's why you have to take me back, once he realises I'm missing, I just know he'll go after Toby, if only so he has some collateral. Please. If you really mean what you say about wanting to help me, you need to return me. My family means too much to me to leave them at Jareth's mercy."

Jordan thought over her plea, and he knew it was pointless. While it filled him with relief to hear she did not love Jareth, that she hadn't been completely brainwashed, he knew her spirit would be crushed if Jareth killed her family. The thought of him being responsible for her pain was repulsive to him. Almost as repulsive as the thought of Jareth forcing her to sleep with him even after he had done something so vile as to kill her baby brother right in front of her.

He couldn't do that to her, but on the other hand, how was he supposed to live with himself if he returned her to the monster that had reduced her to this state to begin with.

He needed time to think; unfortunately time wasn't on their side. Sarah had already been missing a full day, and Jareth no doubt already knew of her absence. Would he go after her family immediately, or would he wait until he knew for sure Sarah had escaped of her own free will? He had made sure he left clear evidence to the fact that it was a kidnapping. Whether Jareth actually cared was the one thing that could work in or against their favour.

"Sarah I..." Jordan was just about to suggest some course of action after they both got some well deserved sleep, when he suddenly felt something shift in the air. Sarah, though exhausted by the journey of the day and the recounting of her past, felt it to. It was the same feeling she got whenever she knew Jareth was materialising near her. The feel of magic.

Jordan sprung to his feet in a panic.

"Sarah quickly, come over here." He said urgently, and Sarah quickly raised herself from the ground and went to stand near him, realising Jordan obviously suspected danger was near.

__It can't be Jareth can it?__ Sarah thought in a haze as the magic around them continued to increase, __if it is, Jordan is as good as dead, and gods knows what he'll do to me!__ The cowardly part of Sarah thought that if Jareth was going to appear, she was just going to run to him and throw herself at his feet. Her family's life was at stake here, and while she appreciated what Jordan had tried to do for her, he wasn't worth the lives of the people she loved.

All of this happened in seconds, and suddenly, the area around them was filled with fae. Sarah cast her eyes around frantically, trying to spot the familiar imposing figure of the Goblin King, but she couldn't see him. All she saw was maybe a dozen men, most of them wearing similar brown uniforms. All but two, and Sarah had no idea how, but she somehow knew that the man not wearing brown attire, who stepped forward on the other side of the fire-pit Jordan had built, the man with a look of fury on his face, was the High King. His being radiated power and wisdom and, at that moment, rage.

Sarah felt Jordan shift so his left shoulder was slightly in front of her. She was both equally irritated and touched by his show of protectiveness.

The king took another step away from his entourage of guards and his personal advisor Roderick, to approach the couple. He took in Jordan's defensive stance and the human girl cowering behind him and wondered fleetingly if perhaps what his queen had said about the pair was true, but quickly dismissed the irrelevant thought. The boy before him had committed treason against his crown, and was going to pay for it. Love or none.

"Human girl, come here." Oberon barked, addressing the girl first. Sarah shivered at the harshness in the man's tone. Perhaps Jordan had been right to take them away from his kingdom after all. She took an involuntary step back. It may not have been logical, but she felt safer with Jordan right now.

"Girl..!"

"Her name is Sarah!" Jordan interrupted sharply, moving to stand directly in front of her, shielding her almost completely from the king's gaze. Oberon's eyes burned with outrage.

"Do not presume to speak to me with such disrespect boy!" He lectured harshly, "You have disgraced my court and betrayed me. You will be tried as soon as you are returned to my kingdom. If you are lucky, I will be lenient and allow you to return to your home in the Marshlands. But you will never be returning to this kingdom again. I have no further use for you." Oberon's sharp words stung Jordan, but he didn't react, merely held himself taller then he felt because he sensed a great amount of fear in the girl behind him. He didn't want her to ever be afraid when she was with him. He wanted to protect her.

Oberon took another step closer, his dark blue cloak hissing on the ground behind him, and spoke again. "Hand me the girl and we shall handle this matter quietly." He said, watching as Jordan's stance shifted again. Oberon saw his bare hand twitch, and knew he was considering simply grabbing the girl's hand and transporting with her. His next words held little patience. "Don't be foolish. You can not use magic in my kingdom without my knowledge and you will not be able to transport yourself to any other kingdom. We would find you immediately. Hand the girl over. She needs to be returned before her abduction is seen as an act of war."

Sarah's eyes widened. __An act of war?__ She hadn't even thought of that. Would Jareth really go to war for her, if he suspected someone in this king's kingdom had abducted her? The very thought was ludicrous. Despite Jareth's obsession with her, she was still a slave. A __human__ slave. Going to war over her would make him look like a fool, she was sure of it. Especially since she knew that, particularly among most dark fae, humans were amongst the lowest ranking order out there. She had read as much in the many books that populated Jareth's library, and had always found them far too hateful and distasteful to pursue.

Low ranking or not, she knew the man spoke the truth about her needing to return to Jareth's kingdom. It was a fact that almost brought more tears to her eyes, but a fact nonetheless. She had to protect Toby. That was her job. After all the danger she had put him in, this was the least she could do for him.

With her head slightly downcast, she took a reluctant step to the left, intending to walk around Jordan. His arm slung out to block her just as suddenly. She almost jumped back at the abruptness of it, as Jordan turned his head towards her with pleading eyes.

"Don't." He implored beseechingly.

"... I'm sorry." She whispered back, with a surprising amount of sincerity. "I have to." And she once again took a step around him, towards the dignified figure of the Seelie High King.

Jordan, in utter desperation, reached to snatch hold of her wrist, and accidentally grasped her bare exposed hand in his.

A light, brighter then anything anyone in the forest gathering had ever seen, suddenly erupted from the joined hands of the two young people. The gleaming, pure gold light sparked and crackled with magic in the space where the two hands joined. Despite the brightness of the light, it did not hurt to look into it, and everyone gathered in the space openly gaped at the unexpected energy joining the pair together. Only Oberon, standing directly opposite the couple, was staring at the light with some semblance of recognition. Recognition which soon turned to wonder, as he realised with more surprise then he had felt in an aeon, just what that light really meant.

Sarah, after moments that seemed like hours of simply gaping open mouthed at the glow radiating from her and Jordan's clasped hands, abruptly jumped back.

The bright gold light sputtered and died the second the contact broke, leaving everyone in awed shock, everyone except Oberon, who was staring in wonderment.

__What the hell?!__

It was a thought simultaneously shared between almost everyone in the clearing. Everyone was still staring in surprise where the light had previously been, wondering what in the worlds had just happened. Only Oberon had recovered enough to realise what it was he had just seen, and realised, with an open mouthed gape to rival Sarah's, just what it had meant. All the anger and resentment towards the couple vanished as a small smile touched the lips of his handsome face.

__Finally__, he thought to himself. __You're back. __

Jordan was staring at the place Sarah's hand had been with shock and wonder. He had never felt that kind of magic before. Like the strongest kind of electroshock voltage was pulsing through his hand. But he didn't feel the pain, only the power of it. It had felt... pure. More pure than any magic he had ever learned or handled before. It had felt __right__. __Right__ to have her hand in his, __right__ to be standing with her, against everything else. It was just... __right__.

He looked up at Sarah's face, hoping to see the same realisation, but was only met with a lot of confusion and fear. She was slightly intimidated by the fierce intensity burning out of Jordan's eyes as her mind spun. __What in the hell was that?__ She had never felt anything like it before. It was like raw, unfiltered magic was shooting up her arm and around her whole body in only the brief seconds their skin had touched. Nothing like that had ever happened with Jareth. So why with him?

The tense moment between the pair was abruptly ended as Oberon cleared his throat. Both Sarah and Jordan's gaze shot to his, and almost immediately, the tension of the moment evaporated.

Oberon's eyes kept both young people in focus as he said quietly, "We need to go."

Jordan misinterpreted his meaning, "You can't take Sarah back to the Goblin Kingdom." He said with more authority then he ever thought himself capable of. He took a half step in the direction of Sarah, ignoring the way she slightly cringed. He felt a little bad about speaking for her, especially after she had told him the reason for wanting to return to Goblin City, but the power still crackling through his veins made it easier to suppress the guilt. After what he just felt he never wanted to let her out of his sight again. He took another half step towards her as Oberon spoke again.

"You misunderstand. I need you __both__ to return with me to my kingdom." His eyes scanned the dark forest floor and found what he was searching for. "You may wish to replace those." He told Jordan pointedly, gesturing with his eyes to a pair of grey leather gloves lying forgotten amongst the leaves and twigs of the forest floor. Jordan looked to where Oberon indicated, then back at his own hands as though surprised he was in fact no longer wearing them. The first lesson any fae learned was to keep gloves on their hands at all times, to give them better control over their own magic. Because of his youth, he very rarely removed them, and realised as he bent to scoop them up, that whatever __that__ was that had just past between himself and Sarah, it must have something to do with bare skin contact.

One of the ten guards, who had watched the events of the past five minutes in silence, stepped forward.

"Sire," He said, in his strong deep voice, "Shall we take the boy to the underground cells to await trial?"

"No." Oberon responded at once, almost aggressively so, startling everyone in the small clearing. "There will be no trial." He declared in a gentler tone. His guards and personal advisor watched wide eyed as their king took a step closer to the human girl who stood holding herself rigidly in fear. He held a hand out for her, a small, reassuring smile on his lips. "Come," he invited gently, "We have much to discuss."

Despite the trying events of the day, for whatever reason, Sarah felt like she could trust that smile. And so, apparently, did Jordan. With his gloves firmly fixed back in place he took one last step towards the girl and slid his hand in hers again. All the guards held their breath, preparing for another strange display of the bright golden glow, but none came. Silently confirming both Jordan and Oberon's suspicions about why the light was activated, and what it meant.

For some reason unknown to Sarah, the gentle pressure of the soft leather coated hand in her own dissipated most of her fear. She looked up into Jordan's light blue eyes and met his encouraging smile with a small smile of her own. They both approached the king, and almost at once, the fire died and the clearing was empty.


	9. Part Three - Chapter Four

****Part Three****

****Chapter Four****

Back in the High Seelie Kingdom's Throne Room, Titania, a few hand maidens and a select few guards watched as people suddenly filled the wide open space of the room. The Throne Room was light and open, lavishly decorated with colours of burnished copper and deep dark blue, according to the preferences of both the king and his queen. Titania still sat on her throne beside that of the king's, where she had been sitting when her husband had taken his advisor and members of his personal guard with him in search for young Jordan and the mortal girl. They had not been gone long, it had not even been a full hour, but Titania knew that if her king was returning so soon then he would have the two young people in his possession, and of that fact she was somewhat startled.

She had witnessed Oberon's anger and surprise when he had been informed that the young son of the duke had in fact removed the human girl from her room and left the castle with her on foot. Had he used magic to transport them out, Oberon would have known his location immediately. Searching for them on foot, however, would take a much longer time. Though Oberon was very powerful, their kingdom was still great in size and heavily guarded by many miles of finely pathed forest. Just because Jordan could not transport himself and the human girl away with magic, did not mean he could not lead them out on foot. Each kingdom in the Underground was heavily protected against magic, if not, armies from other kingdoms could attack with ease. Travelling on foot would take longer, but was no doubt the safer, and more intellectual option.

Titania was, therefore, very surprised when her king, his guards, his advisor and the young couple appeared in the empty space before the king and queen's thrones. She hadn't thought it would be necessarily difficult to find them, but she hadn't believed it would be this easy either. She stood from her throne as the magic haze around the large group of people dimmed and Oberon stood in the centre. She was even more surprised to see that in one of his gloved hands was a hand of the small mortal woman. And right beside her, the boy Oberon had named 'traitor' stood, holding her other hand, with not the least bit of fear or trepidation lingering on his face. Outside spectators gaped at the small crowd. The guards who had joined the king slunk back against the walls of the Throne Room as Titania turned her obvious confusion and inquisitiveness onto her husband.

She was shocked to see that on his lips there sat a strange smile the likes of which Titania had only ever seen once or twice. It was a smile of hope.

"My queen." He said, and elegantly swayed towards the gaping woman, placing a single brief sweet kiss on her lips. Titania's bewildered expression soon turned to amused wonderment as she raised her fingers to her lips and touched the place his lips had kissed. He very rarely displayed that kind of affection in front of so many witnesses. In their Throne Room of all places. Their official room of court had never been used for such intimacy.

Oh yes, she was very intrigued by what had transpired now.

"My king?" She replied, almost as though she were questioning the identity of the man before her.

"Titania I..." He smiled and shook his head disbelievingly, unable to put his divine discovery into words. Everyone in the room was completely oblivious to what appeared to be happening in the king's head. Especially the young couple whose hands were still clasped together.

__What in the..?__

The thought fluttered through Sarah's head as she took in the scene around her. She had to admit that she felt fear and unease at being around so many new faces, most of whom had had their full attention on her not five minutes ago, but she was also rather relieved that this guy... __king__, she mentally corrected, didn't appear angry with them anymore.

She was still confused, however, and the biggest comfort to her in that moment was that she apparently wasn't the only one feeling this anxiety. As her green eyes swept the room, and she took in the look of complete confusion on every other person staring at the king, she knew she wasn't the only one in the dark here. But, strangely, she still couldn't stop herself from feeling like an outsider.

She unconsciously squeezed Jordan's hand tighter, not even aware that his hand was still around her own.

Jordan, too, was feeling the same confusion and concern as the dark haired girl beside him. While the rush of what ever had happened between himself and Sarah in the woods had made him more confident, he was still concerned for the consequences of his actions. He had still committed treason, even if Oberon had said that he was to face no trial, that didn't mean that he was immediately forgiven for his actions.

Oberon wasn't the type to act or pretend, or say things he did not mean, but he did not seem the type to go back on his word. This left Jordan even more confused. When he had first arrived in the woods he had said he would send him back to the Marshlands, and Sarah back to Jareth, then, after witnessing that golden light - whatever that was - erupt out of his and Sarah's joined hands, his demeanour had altered completely.

__He must know__, Jordan thought, __he must know what that light really was__. Jordan wanted to ask about it, but was worried over what the king's reaction would be. He looked at the girl beside him and saw that she had the same baffled, inquisitive expression he was sure to be wearing, but that she, to, was afraid to speak out.

"What is it?" Titania asked, cutting through the silence. Every eye in the room sharpened on the queen and king on the raised platform.

Oberon was so filled with a strange light giddiness to put his own thoughts into words. Perhaps he was being foolish, already seeing victory where he only had two barely of age adults, but all the old stories... all the stories both his father and grandfather had told him...

He slowly turned his gaze from his gaping queen to the young couple standing alone at the bottom of the dais. His ancestors had all spoke of the dangers, but his father had preached a different argument all together.

__They could be my downfall__, he thought, __or the key to everything__.

He cleared his throat and addressed the room.

"I need to speak to these two alone." He announced in a strong, commanding tone.

Mostly everyone in the room was disappointed at the dismissal, but both guards and servants alike had been trained not to question their king. Nor did any have the desire to do so.

"Oberon..." Titania started. Oberon held up a hand to still her. "My queen, I promise I will find you later and explain everything, but right now..." He looked towards the young couple at the bottom of the dais, "Right now it is imperative that I speak to these two alone."

Titania looked at him hesitantly. His mouth quirked a little and he moved forward to breathe in her ear, "Trust me my love."

Titania shook her head in utter bewilderment at her king's demeanour: he had not behaved in such a way since their younger years, when she was still being courted. Consoling herself that he had at least promised to find her later, she beckoned to her handmaidens and left the room with them, casting one last curious glance at the two young people before exiting. The guards also left and after receiving a nod from Oberon, Roderick followed, leaving the trio alone.

Clearing his throat once more, Oberon began, "First, I want you both to know that I am not angry with you. Either of you. I know it's been a long day and I am sure you are both tired and confused, but before I see you off, I need you both to know the significance of what truly happened in the woods tonight."

There was a heavy awkward silence that followed as both young people regarded the king's words. Jordan was the first of the pair to speak.

"Are you still going to send me home?" He asked, tempted to break the silence before anything else was said.

Oberon regarded the boy first. "No, I will see that both of you are given rooms here. We have much to discuss now that..."

"Excuse me..?"

Both the king and Jordan suddenly turned to face Sarah, who was burning red with embarrassment. As if suddenly realising the level of intimacy in her position, she promptly pulled her hand away from Jordan's and took a few steps back. Looking at the king first, she forced herself to speak, "I have to go back to Goblin City." She squeaked, and mentally berated herself for sounding like a frightened little mouse. But she couldn't help it. She had never been engaged in conversation by this many fae before, and though he seemed calm enough now, the way this king had presented himself in the woods still concerned her. She had had quite enough of dealing with __one__ psychotic fae king, she didn't know if she could handle another.

Jordan's frame visibly tensed as he turned his head to look back at her. Oberon was about to speak, but Jordan beat him to it.

"Sarah, I should have mentioned this earlier, and I'm sorry, but you don't need to worry. When I took you out of Jareth's castle, I made sure to leave evidence of magic behind." Jordan cringed ever so slightly at his admission, knowing the fact that he had left Oberon's vial of magic had angered the king, but consoling Sarah was simply far more important to him in this instance, though he did not know why.

Oberon, who was looking at the boy and the wide-eyed young woman with new eyes, knew exactly why, and therefore could not muster the energy to be angered.

"It doesn't matter!" Sarah insisted, having not really listened to his words at all, all her thoughts brimming with concern for the life of her brother. "Toby's still in danger." She said hysterically.

Jordan took a small step towards her, his face and demeanour attempting to be comforting. "It does matter Sarah. The magic I left was very strong and very unique. There is simply no way you could have gotten your hands on it anywhere in the Goblin Kingdom. Jareth is going to know that you were kidnapped. That you didn't leave of your own free will." He explained.

Sarah took a silent moment to consider this. Jordan was right, she supposed, there was no way she would have been able to get her hands on any kind of magic in Jareth's castle, and even if there was, she never would have thought to go looking for it. The question that was swirling around in her head now was, would it really __matter?__

"You really think that will matter?" She asked aloud after a long pregnant pause. "Can you guarantee me that it will? That he won't go after Toby because he knows I didn't run on my own. That he will even stop to think about it. The goblins check my room every morning; he probably already knows I'm gone. And more likely then not he'll simply strike out rather than stop to think rationally. When he's angry, __rational__ is the furthest thing from his mind." Sarah ranted with surety. She didn't know many things about this world, and most definitely knew less then the two men standing before her, but the one thing she did know, was Jareth. And he was neither patient nor forgiving. If she went back and grovelled at his feet and pleaded with him not to hurt Toby, then maybe, __maybe__, he wouldn't. But to just leave the situation entirely to chance and __hope for the best__? No, there was no way she could do that. Not with so much at stake.

Oberon, who had been watching the exchange between the two attentively, addressed the human girl.

"Just to whom are you referring?" He asked inquisitively.

Sarah instinctively recoiled. Telling Jordan about Toby had seemed necessary at the time, if not even a little natural, but just blurting out her past to any random person, even a king, was not something she thought she could handle. Objectively she wondered why she wasn't more hysterical. She had been crying and screaming less than an hour ago, but now here she stood, before two Fae she didn't know, and she felt more calm than she had ever in the Goblin Kingdom. She told herself it was because she knew what a monster Jareth was and so far, Jordan had been relatively kind to her, but something deep inside her told her it was something else. __Maybe it has something to do with that golden glow thing that happened when we touched__, she thought. __I've had plenty of bare skin contact with Jareth__, she thought, cringing slightly at the memories, __and nothing like that ever happened__. __Why with him__?

She looked at Jordan, and as if sensing her inner turmoil, he turned and spoke to Oberon.

"Her brother," He said gently, not wanting to reveal too much of a story that was Sarah's alone to tell, "He threatened to hurt him if she ever left his kingdom." He explained.

Oberon cocked his head to the side. Things were getting very intriguing indeed.

"Just what are you to the Goblin King?" He asked.

Sarah took another step back as if trying to escape from the surprise of the question. She hugged her arms around her chest and spluttered, "I...uh...well I..." She dropped her gaze. For some reason, the question was almost too difficult to answer. It wasn't as though she even had an answer anyway. __She__ didn't even know what she was supposed to be to that lunatic. Though she had always been defined, even by herself, as a slave, she thought it would sound rather preposterous to claim that a king would go to so much trouble for one. Even if she did reveal her history to these two men, how was she suppose to admit to complete strangers that for the past year she had been beaten, tortured and raped by the same man. A familiar wave of self loathing and shame washed over her as she thought of putting that into words. The one reliable thing about being in the Goblin Kingdom was, at least there, no one had ever tried to get her story out of her.

Jordan watched as many torturous expressions crossed the face of the green eyed girl, and decided to, once again, answer the question for her.

"I told you." He said, turning to face the king, "She was a prisoner. She was..." Jordan contemplated the use of the right word. "... A prize."

The king looked at the girl for confirmation, and Sarah gave a half shrug and a single nod in confirmation to Jordan's words, still not raising her head from the burnished copper tiles that decorated the Throne Room's floor.

The king's light eyes rested on the girl, and at her withdrawn state felt an unexpected stab of pity. He had had little interaction with humans throughout his life, and none at all within the past hundred years or so. A humans emotions tended to be stronger and far more fragile then a Fae's, as they themselves were so fleeting, and so he could only imagine the kind of pain this human would feel given her situation. He knew the Goblin King was cruel, every UnSeelie Fae was, and a king especially, being use to ruling and having everything they wanted.

Jareth was only a few years older then himself, and also like himself, had come to the throne as a royal heir. The UnSeelie bloodlines were a mystery to the Seelie court, as they kept mostly everything shrouded in secrecy, but throughout the years his spies had gleamed some knowledge.

He had only ever met Jareth once, when they were still both barely of age. Only a few years younger than the boy who stood before him now. They were both princes set to take their fathers thrones, and they had been formally introduced at a ball hosted here in his very own kingdom. He hadn't thought much of Jareth then, but back then the ties between the Seelie and UnSeelie court was fragile at best, and so was compelled to keep his opinion to himself. Then not soon after war had broken loose, and he had never again interacted with another UnSeelie Fae. Being too young to go to war, he had watched as his world was thrown into chaos for almost two centuries. Only two years in the mortal world. But as time moved differently in the Underground, the war lasted for almost two hundred years. Then it was over, and the Seelie court had been victorious, but the casualty had also been great. Many kingdoms had suffered much damage and loss, his fathers kingdom included. During the war, his father had been weakened, and had lain on his death bed for several months before finally moving on to the Spirit Plains. And soon afterwards, at the age of fourteen, he had taken the throne himself. Likewise, Jareth had also had to succeed his father early, and at sixteen, he, to, sat on a throne of a war trodden kingdom.

Over time, their kingdoms had recovered and the fighting had ceased, but as with any war, some bitterness and resentment still lingered. The secrecy surrounding the true identity of the UnSeelie High King had been kept, and from the information passed to him by his spies, he knew they were still plotting. However, now with an entire group of kingdoms to rule over, and the death of his father to mourn, he had had little time to fret about such things. They were, for the moment, subdued. Now almost eight-thousand years later, the threat they posed was becoming an issue again, and he did not want to be sitting on his throne as yet another war tore their world to pieces, for he feared they would not recover this time. Or worse; they would lose.

Knowing all this, and knowing just how cruel and heartless Jareth as a king truly was, he had no doubt the pain that must have been inflicted upon this poor girl. Though _why_ was the question. It was considered unsavoury to keep any human as a slave. Though some humans found themselves trapped in the Underground through no fault of their own, mostly all had been taken into the service of the monarchs whose kingdoms they had been discovered in.

Yet to keep a human against their will was almost unheard of. There had to be more to this girl then had initially caught his attention. And he was determined to root it out, but first, he had something to show them both.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

After some coxing, and a promise that this issue with the Goblin King and her brother would be thoroughly analysed and addressed, Oberon had managed to convince the human girl, Sarah, to accompany himself and Jordan to his father's old memorial room.

He had decided to transport them there, not wanting to waste anymore precious time, and also sensing the fatigue on the human girl, he knew he had to say what he needed to say now, before they both became completely incapable of hearing him.

When they arrived, Sarah and Jordan immediately took a good look about their surroundings.

To Sarah, the room resembled something akin to a museum. Their was art and statues and trophies lining the walls. Though the room was small, and the sky was dark, the room was well lit by many candles that flared into existence the second they arrived. Most of the statues appeared to be of either fighters or rulers, by the positions they were depicted in, and Sarah stood in awe as she looked around the space. She could feel her exhaustion, but fought it off with every bit of stubborn will she had left. Oberon had promised to provide an explanation to that mysterious golden glow that she and Jordan had ignited, and she was curious.

"Please, join me." Oberon called from across the room, and both Sarah and Jordan, who had been scanning the area in the same awe as Sarah, looked over at the king who was standing before a large painting of two men.

As Sarah got closer, she saw the portrait depicted two identical men in identical suits of armour. Both looked to be rather young, with dark black hair and ghostly pale complexions, staring sombrely out of the painted canvas. The portrait was almost twice the size of her, hanging from the wall like a long scroll of parchment. Though it looked rather old, it struck Sarah that since no other portrait hung on the wall beside it, the people in it must have been pretty important.

"These are the Bellator brothers." Oberon began. "They were twins, as you can clearly see, and sons to a baron in the kingdom of Elfos. Their father was one of the lowest classes of nobility in any kingdom, but his sons were exceptional fighters, and well trained in the art of battle. Around eight-thousand years ago, the Seelie and UnSeelie kingdoms went to war for power and control over the Underground. During this war, these two rose in rank faster than any other common soldier could have ever hoped to. These two personally fought by my father's side during the final battle at Somnum, one of the old Unseelie Kingdoms. They fought well, and stayed by my father's side during the massacre. Though sadly, they did not survive. Both gave their lives so my father could walk off of that battlefield in one piece. This portrait was commissioned after the war."

Both Sarah and Jordan stared at the king as he recited the tale, staring at the portrait of the two men with admirance. Oberon continued to stare for a few more moments before turning to face the two bewildered young people. "It was thanks to them that the war was won. They led many armies and defeated many foes. They were with my father to the end, and it was thanks to them that I could be officially crowned the king of this land by my fathers own hand. I will be forever grateful to them for that, for had I not been, even with my royal blood, others may have tried to challenge my claim."

Sarah and Jordan exchanged brief glances before Jordan finally spoke.

"That was a great story, but I still don't see what it has to do with us." He said hesitantly, not wishing to offend the king. It was clear he respected the two warriors portrayed in the portrait before them, but he didn't understand how this related to himself and Sarah.

"You will." Oberon declared with certainty, and a small smile, as if he were capable of hearing Jordan's secret inner thoughts. He turned to face them both fully, turning his back on the art piece. "Will you please remove your gloves?" The High King said, though it sounded slightly like a question, there was no doubt in neither Sarah nor Jordan's mind that he expected to be obeyed. Never taking his eyes from Sarah, Jordan did as instructed and removed his grey leather gloves, revealing the smooth pale skin underneath. Sarah knotted her fingers nervously; she had a feeling she knew where this was going.

Oberon took a step back from the pair and said, "Please. Show me." Instructing with his hand that they should proceed. Sarah started to tremble slightly as Jordan moved closer to her, and held out his hand. Sensing her hesitation, Jordan smiled slightly and said, "It's alright. Trust me. I won't hurt you."

__I know__, she wanted to say aloud, no idea where the thought had come from, but she did believe it to be true. He had had plenty of opportunities to do something to her, and all he had really done was try to help her. It made her kind of sad that her faith in people had been so completely shattered by Jareth. She had been a very trusting person before she was taken, and felt like Jareth had stripped that from her as he had stripped everything else. That someone could hurt her so severely for no other reason then because he wanted to, had made her forget her, perhaps naïve belief, that there was a little good in everyone. She didn't want to start trusting someone again only to have it all pulled out from under her feet. But something told her that Jordan was being completely sincere when he asked for her trust, and so with that in mind, she scraped a small smile back and slowly placed her hand in his.

It was just as it was before, the light flared and the power flowed. She saw the beautiful golden glow consume their joined hands at the same time as she felt a razor sharp shot of adrenaline shoot through her. It almost unbalanced her this time, but Jordan's firm hand over hers kept her steady.

She broke hand contact again just as soon as the power was starting to become overwhelming, her gaze immediately going to the man before her. Jordan had a somewhat glazed look in his eyes. His pupils where dilated and his breathing was heavy. It was clear that whatever she had just felt, he had felt it to.

They both took several minutes to calm themselves before Jordan turned to Oberon and panted, "What is that thing?"

Oberon, who had been watching the pair much more attentively this time, broke into a nostalgic smile.

"It's called 'Heroes Cordis.'" Oberon announced proudly, taking a step to the side and sweeping his hand in the direction of the painting. "They had it to." He declared. Both young people's eyes first went to each other, then Oberon, then the painting. Experiencing that blast of power had made Sarah even more tired the second the effects wore off, but she fought for control. Knowing that that strange golden glow thing had a name was comforting, but she still wanted to know more.

"I've never heard of it." Jordan said in a confused voice. Oberon's smile never faltered. "Nor would you have. The power was kept remarkably well hidden from the rest of the fae populus. Every one of my ancestors knew of it though. It was knowledge only a High King should possess. A High King, and the two subjects it affected every few hundred years." He explained, looking at the pair with what Sarah could only determine as a mix of pride and pity.

"But what exactly __is__ it?" Jordan demanded to know, his tone eager more then anything else. Sarah was grateful to him for having asked the question before she could summon the energy to. She gave him an appreciative smile, and Jordan, still feeling the effects of the golden rush, mischievously winked at her. She ducked her head slightly and blushed as Oberon continued, sounding as eager to explain as Jordan was for the explanation.

"Heroes Cordis is a type of bonding. It is created between two souls who are destined to live out their lives as one. It affects very few people, but one thing is certain; the loyalty one has for a bonded is stronger and purer then any kind of devotion they may feel towards any one else. Even a king." He finished with a knowing smile.

In that moment Jordan met Oberon's gaze and understood why all his anger with him at his betrayal had dissipated the second he had seen that shiny golden glow pass between Sarah and himself. It was because he knew he couldn't help but be drawn to her, and he couldn't help but want to help her, even if it meant going against the orders of someone he still held deep admirance and respect for.

Jordan looked at Sarah, hoping to glean her reaction, but was disappointed when he saw that her gaze was to the ground. He wondered what she was thinking of all this. How she was taking it.

__Bonded__, she thought. They were __bonded__? Well, at least there was an explanation as to why this guy hadn't been able to leave her alone since they first met. But what the king had said about loyalty, was that really true? Was it because of this golden light thing that he felt some obligation to protect her? To defy this __king__ for her? But... wait. If that were the truth, shouldn't __she__ be feeling the same thing? While she felt relatively safe with Jordan, and had revealed things to him she thought she never would have to anyone, she didn't feel as the king was describing. __Devotion__? No, she wasn't __devoted__ to Jordan. She had been trying to escape him for most of the evening. How was she supposed to be bounded like he described if she wasn't feeling any of the things he said she should be feeling. Then there was that whole bit about being 'destined to live out their lives as one.' _N_o. No way.__

"That doesn't make any sense." She finally said, forcing the words through her tired befuddled mind. Oberon and Jordan's focus immediately shifted to her. She felt nervous being under that kind of scrutiny, but forced it down. She needed answers.

"How are __we__ supposed to be destined for each other?" She asked, her voice a few octaves higher than usual. "I'm __human__. I'm not even meant to be in this world. How are we supposed to be...?"

"Soul-mates?" Oberon finished her sentence for her. Sarah dropped her head again, but found she could not keep herself from meeting Jordan's gaze.

"Your right, Sarah, was it?" He inquired. Sarah nodded in a positive confirmation of her name. "The circumstances are a little unusual. Of all the notes my ancestors have made on the phenomenon, never once has there been a human bonding with a fae. But make no mistake Sarah, this power __chose__ you, even before your birth. There have been no other bonded since the death of the Bellator brothers, and if my father, and my grandfathers beliefs are correct, then you can assume that this... power. It has a mind of its own. It probably chose you both to be its bearers the moment these brothers died. It... Chooses the hearts of heroes." He explained, and gave the girl another proud smile.

Sarah was stunned, and it showed. Hero? __Hero__? The word echoed in her mind over and over again, and each time it sounded more and more absurd. She was not a hero. This king was wrong. Obviously he was wrong. She wasn't a hero; she couldn't even fight Jareth on her own. She had let him force her into submission. Let him get the best of her. How was she supposed to be a hero when she was willing to scrape on her knees before someone as evil as Jareth all to avoid something so trivial as pain.

She shook her head, brought her gaze to the king and said firmly. "I'm not a hero. And I don't feel the way you're describing. I'm sorry, but I just don't." She looked at Jordan, and he saw on her face equal amounts of confusion and pity. "I don't know what you feel for me, if anything, but I don't feel __devoted__ to you. I don't __feel__ anything. This whole thing is crazy. The only reason I'm here is because of a stupid, selfish wish I made when I was fifteen. And you know what; I'm paying for it now. Whatever you thought __this__ was," She told the king, gesturing to herself and Jordan. "You were wrong."

And with that, she turned on her heel and fled.


	10. Part Three - Chapter Five

****Part Three****

****Chapter Five****

The crunch of glass under the booted feet of the Goblin King was the only sound made in the once lavish guest room as the king again knelt to examine the fine purple powder lingering on the dark wooden floor. Removing his right glove, he caressed the powder with two fingers before standing straight and bringing his hand close to his rage-darkened eyes.

He had calmed down somewhat after taking out his frustration on every piece of furniture that wasn't bolted to the floor of Sarah's room, but he was still boiling with a deep terrible rage and a hunger to make something bleed.

He had left for his kingdom the very moment he had fully understood the information in the message that had been sent to him. The scroll in question was still tightly clenched in his left fist, as it had been for the excruciatingly long journey home.

Because of the protection around his kingdom to block intruders, he could not simply materialize into her room as he wanted. No, he had to sit in a carriage and wait to pass the border through the Marshlands and pass neutral territories before he finally reached the boundary of his own kingdom. He was at the side of his head of guard almost immediately, where it had been explained that the entire castle had been searched for her, and nothing. Not wanting to waste any more time, and also not truly believing the message on the scroll to be true, he hurried to her chamber. He knew he would not believe it to be true until he reached this room to discover that she was in fact missing. What was worse, he could not feel her anywhere in his kingdom, as he had always been able to before. She was gone.

He had managed to retain enough cognitive thought to order all the guards stationed on this floor to be removed from their posts and brought down to the dungeons to be prepared for him, before examining the only evidence left of her disappearance.

He had recognised it almost at once, how could he not have; Oberon would be one of the only Fae that possessed magic capable of rivalling his own. It would have had to be something that strong to overpower the dozens of protective spells he had placed around this room, this castle and her.

The furniture had felt the wrath of Jareth's discovery that __his__ Sarah was now in the clutches of the Seelie High King. A being with as much influence and loyal followers as the Unseelie High King himself.

Leaving her in the grasp of that almighty bastard wasn't an option, but he could not simply form an army and march on the walls. This situation needed to be handled rationally. Unfortunately, rational, was the furthest thing from his mind at that moment.

He should have anticipated this.

He knew it was too soon to allow her full access to the castle, but he had just felt so damn guilty. Honestly, guilt wasn't an emotion Jareth experienced often, or at all, and it had left an unpleasant pit in his stomach after he had seen her freezing, shivering, naked form huddled into the tree as though it were her only lifeline.

He didn't quite understand it at first, he had punished her before, and though he hated to do so, he had felt no guilt; perhaps it was only because he knew in this instance her punishment had been undeserved.

He had felt the unpleasantness as soon as the duke's son had informed him of what had really transpired after breakfast that morning, after which any lingering anger and contemplation of leaving her out there another night vanished. He had appeared in the garden and the second he had seen her pale, vulnerable form his heart had softened. Punishing her when she had earned a punishment was not something he had ever lost any sleep over, but punishing her when she had done nothing to deserve it was completely unacceptable. If he hurt her whether she had misbehaved or not, it would only teach her that anything she did would earn her punishment. Such a thing could only lead to disobedience, and he would feel even more uncomfortable at having to punish her for defiance he had inadvertently encouraged in the first place.

So he had given her full access to his castle, and was now wholeheartedly regretting that decision.

His eyes once again clouded with rage as his thoughts strayed to that... boy. It hadn't escaped his notice that the duke's son was also gone, despite another two weeks left of the Marshland dignitaries visits. The boy's father was currently joining his incompetent guards beneath the castle.

He should have known this was going to happen. He had seen the way that infernal pup had stared at her. The way he hovered around her, trying to appear inconspicuous, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Ha! He knew __everything__ that happened in his kingdom, but he hadn't anticipated the boy coming loaded with magic far beyond his station or power.

Oberon was behind this. Whether he ordered the boy to take Sarah was a mystery, but he knew Oberon had given the boy the magic necessary to overcome all of his protective spells woven around his kingdom and just take her as though she were never even truly there.

He ground his boot into the shattered glass vial with force, crushing the fine pieces to dust.

He was going to get her back.

He didn't care how long it took or what he had to do. Or who he had to kill. He was going to find her, bring her back and make sure not another soul ever rested eyes on her again.

"I'll have you again Sarah." He growled with menace. __Mark my words__.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah had fled from the memorial room, rushed through the halls, locked herself in the first empty bedroom she could find, threw herself on the covers and cried.

She didn't understand.

She didn't understand how things could have gone so wrong. How things could __keep__ going so wrong.

It seemed that no matter what she did, or how hard she tried, her life just kept getting worse and worse and worse. She hadn't felt anything akin to this despair since her parents divorce. But she knew that had been a petty and vain self-pity that had consumed her when she was younger. Back then, she had convinced herself that the whole world was against her, and would have done or given anything to escape the life she had had.

__Well you got your wish didn't you?__ She berated herself bitterly. __Was it everything you ever hoped it would be?__

Her own scolding only made her cry harder.

Eventually, she fell into an uneasy and restless sleep, starting awake every few moments with the image of soulless eyes branded in her mind, and phantom sensations of fingers on her skin.

By the time birds were chirping outside the windows, she had given sleep up as a bad job and decided that she should just try to walk off some of her restless frustration. She was also terribly thirsty, and while the idea of actually finding what she wanted in a castle this big seemed impossible, it would at least give her something to do.

She walked through the dimly lit halls aimlessly, silently making comparisons between Jareth's castle and this one. For one, the walls were a different colour. While Jareth's castle was mostly stone and grey and everything an ancient, olden-time castle should be, this one actually felt more contemporary. The walls were a painted off-white - but not unpleasant - colour. There were vases and random works of art around the place, and there were stain glass windows around the stairwells as she climbed higher and higher in the castle.

By the time it was getting lighter outside, exploring had become almost interesting to her. She could never go anywhere in Jareth's castle without the feeling of eyes following her every movement. Whether it was Jareth's guards or Jareth himself, she could always sense it, like unpleasant prickling on the back of her neck. But this, now, was quite possibly the only time she had felt completely alone. And while it unsettled her a little, it also left her with a strange sense of peace.

This was freedom. However brief it turned out to be; __this__ was freedom.

Eventually, Sarah had climbed the last staircase she could find and assumed she was at the top of the castle. She found a tall clear window at the end of a passage and looked out at it.

She shook her head of dizziness. Though she knew she wasn't in the Goblin Kingdom anymore she still half expected to look out the window and see the labyrinth. Its impressive high winding walls and passages, ever changing and constantly evolving.

This window held a view of beautiful gardens, and beyond that, what looked to be a grand city.

It was different from the Goblin City. The Goblin City looked like a collection of huts made with common objects and clumsy fingers. This city looked as though it could have been built by humans. It looked sort-of medieval in its structuring, but not primitive. It was far grander then anything she had seen in the Goblin Kingdom, and it left her silently wondering what kind of king __Oberon__ was. The city held a kind of classical charm that Sarah stared at until she noticed the sun fully raised in the sky. She was about to head back down the staircase when she heard a faint small noise behind her. She turned, confused. She had only found one door on the hall she had walked when she was searching for more stairs, and anyone who wanted to go inside the room would have had to pass her on the staircase. Unless, she mentally smacked herself, they used __magic__.

Suddenly becoming curious, she headed back down the hallway. When she was once again standing outside the door, she heard another faint noise. A simple shuffling sound, as though someone were walking restlessly or moving things around.

__Should I knock__, Sarah thought, half bringing her hand into position before she instinctively cringed away. She __never__ would have had the nerve to knock on any closed doors in Jareth's castle. It might lead to conversation with a person who __wasn't__ Jareth. __But__, she remembered again, __you're not __in__ Jareth's castle__. __This might be the last time you get to do something reckless__, she thought almost giddily. She then had to shake her head at her own absurdity. __Knocking on a door is __reckless__ now? Jeez Sarah, how __sad__ are you?__

Spurred on by her own need to prove to herself she wasn't a coward, she brought her hand back up and knocked three times.

She shuffled awkwardly in the silence that followed and was torn between the want to be brave and stay put, or the need to run back down the hall as fast as she could, before the door opened.

When she saw who was on the other side, she silently wished she had bolted.

Oberon opened the door to stare down in surprise at the human girl, who was in turn gaping up at him like she expected to be horsewhipped. Seeing the girl's horror-stricken expression, Oberon forced back his surprise and welcomed the girl with a small smile.

"Good morning Sarah. Can I help you with something?"

Sarah was gaping up at the king like he was Medusa and had just frozen her to stone. __This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea__, seemed to be the only thing her brain was capable of thinking as she continued to stare open mouthed at the powerful fae who had just spoken to her.

__What__? She thought desperately. __He just said something to you you idiot, pay attention!__

"Are you alright?" King Oberon asked, regarding the girl with concern. It was clear from her expression that she expected to be punished, and her posture that she was ready to run at any moment. His sympathy for the girl seemed to increase.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I... I shouldn't have disturbed you. I'm sorry." Sarah stuttered, wishing to the __gods__ that the floor would just open up and swallow her whole. The king didn't look at all imposing or threatening, but past experiences were forcing their way into her brain and preventing her from seeing any outcome in this scenario that wouldn't end in pain.

Thankfully, the king took pity on her.

"Not at all child, to be honest you caught me rather off guard; I'm simply not used to people knocking on my door this early. Particularly not here. This was quite unexpected."

"I'm sorry for disturbing you Your Majesty. I'll go. I'm very sorry." She repeated frantically, her eyes darting and her throat closing as sharp terror began to overload her system. Oberon was quite taken aback by the girl's response to his words, and decided to try a different approach.

"Sarah, look at me." He ordered sternly.

Sarah stopped fidgeting and snapped her eyes to his in a second. She was use to following orders.

Oberon never broke eye contact with her as he spoke to her in a calm, firm tone. "You don't have to apologise for surprising me. It is your second night in a new place and you are bound to be unsettled. I can't tell you I know what kind of treatment you're used to, because I don't. But I __can__ assure you that no one in this kingdom, especially myself, would __ever__ harm you. You are safe here; this on the blood of my ancestors I pledge to you."

Sarah only gaped wider at the king's words, before realising how rude she was being and snapping her mouth firmly shut.

Safe.

Safe, he had said.

Sarah hadn't felt truly safe since her birthday. The day had all been going so perfectly. She had gone shopping with her friends, been to dinner with her family, and she had ended what had been an already perfect day by attending a theatre performance of Swan Lake with her best friend Alice.

She had staggered back into the house, sleepy but satisfied. Despite it being past ten at night, both her parents and Toby were still in the living room watching television when she had walked back in. Apparently they had all been waiting for her, and immediately asked her to join them for hot chocolate and tell them how the performance went.

When she was finally too tired to string words together, she and Toby had both dragged themselves up the stairs to their rooms. She had tucked Toby in, wished him 'goodnight' and kissed his cheek before closing his bedroom door.

She had then crossed the hall to her own room.

That was when it had happened.

When she had entered her room, she hadn't looked around; she had just gone straight to her vanity to remove her jewellery, when she heard the door quietly close. She had looked around quickly, and was met with a face that never-in-a-million-years did she believe she would __ever__ see again.

The rest of that night had taken a full year to repress the pain of, and thus was the ending of her life as a free person. From __that__ moment on, she was a prisoner.

She didn't think she would ever be able to truly experience the concept of __safe__ again, but here this king was, promising it. And she supposed he had no reason to lie. Jareth had done many awful things to her, but he had never __lied__ about anything. Maybe fae simply didn't __need__ to lie.

Without realising she was doing so, her body seemed to relax at the king's words. At least she had his pledge that she would not be harmed; though the situation was far from perfect, it was better then nothing.

"Do you understand?" She heard him say. Sarah raised her gaze from wherever she had been, and slowly nodded, too drained to speak.

"Good," Oberon said, opening the door wider. "I was just about to have some tea. Care to join me?" He asked conversationally.

Sarah was just about to respectfully decline and flee down the hallway as quickly and subtly as she could, before she actually forced herself to think about her reply. She still needed to talk to the king, and she knew she would feel better about it if it wasn't in front of an audience. Plus, she __was__ thirsty, she remembered, swallowing instinctively, and tea sounded like a really good idea. Pleased with her reasoning, she nodded in consent before forcing herself to say, "It would be an honour. Thank you."

"Not at all child." Oberon replied, and gestured her inside.

"Please sit," he said, motioning to a chair seated opposite a grand heavy looking wooden desk. Sarah accepted the offer to sit before scanning the room shyly.

It looked like an office worthy of a catalogue. It had deep brown colouring with a wall of books to the right and a line of windows behind the king's desk. It was quite a small room, surprisingly small to be the only room on the whole floor, and Sarah wondered if the room had any special significance to the king as he sat himself behind his desk and poured them both some tea.

He passed her a cup, which she accepted with a quiet 'thank you,' and thus began the heavy awkward silence.

Well, at least it was awkward for Sarah. Oberon looked perfectly at ease as he sipped his tea from the china cup and looked over an open book on his desk. At least drinking the tea gave her something to distract herself with. She was thirsty enough to swallow it whole but forced herself to take her time, working up her courage to strike up a conversation with the man opposite her. She almost sent her tea flying in shock when the king spoke.

"Is there something you would like to talk to me about Sarah?" He asked, still sipping and reading as though they were friends who did this kind of thing every day.

Sarah placed the tea cup on the edge of his desk and knotted her fingers together nervously before working up the courage to speak.

"I... uh... well." Sarah sighed and lowered her gaze again. __Great Sarah. Wait-a take charge of the situation. __

Oberon put his tea down and carefully closed his book, giving the girl his full attention.

"You can ask me anything Sarah." He said, trying to appear cordial. If he was honest he was probably just as out of sorts as she was, though he was doing a marvellous job of covering it up. He was king. He had been taught that any shows of weakness, either public or private, would damage the perception of the kingdom, and though experiences and time had aged him, he still sometimes felt like the same twelve year old who had received that lesson from his father.

It had been a long time since he had spoken to a human, much less a young human woman. He knew this situation was delicate, and needed to be handled carefully.

Sarah decided to stop dancing around and just shove her words out. If he insisted, she would be abrupt.

"I need to go back to Goblin City." She said quickly.

Oberon's eyes widened too minutely for Sarah to notice. While he had expected as much, the fact that __that__ request was the first to leave her mouth was surprising.

"I see." He said, folding his fingers together while resting his palms on the desk. "And why would that be?" He inquired. Oberon thought he knew the answer already, but wanted to sooth the girl into conversation by asking something easy.

"Did Jordan tell you about what Ja... the Goblin King, did?" She asked hesitantly, still fiddling with her fingers in her lap.

"Only what he said before you fled the Memorial Room." Oberon replied, and watched the girl eye him cautiously. "After you left, he had quite a few questions of his own."

Sarah breathed a silent breath of relief before continuing. "The Goblin King threatened to hurt my brother if I ever left Goblin City." She said. It wasn't entirely the truth, but she didn't want to be to overtly dramatic by saying 'kill.' For all she knew, this king wouldn't believe her story.

"Indeed?" Oberon asked, knowing the girl was being honest.

She nodded her head. "In my... __experiences__, the Goblin King does not make idle threats."

Oberon considered her words. "So I've heard." He conceded. "And just how much experience have you had?" He asked before Sarah could continue.

Sarah's brow furrowed in confusion.

Oberon elaborated. "How long have you been in the Goblin Kingdom?"

"About a year, and some change." She replied.

"A human year or a Fae year?" Oberon asked casually.

Sarah's brow furrowed harder, "What do you mean?" She asked.

Oberon's eyes widened enough for Sarah to notice this time. __The girl really doesn't know?__

"The Goblin King never told you?" He asked, slightly disbelieving. Sarah's increasing confusion confirmed his suspicions.

"Told me what?" Sarah asked with the slightest trace of fear.

"One year in the human world is equivalent to a hundred here. What you have been perceiving as a year could have been a century of time."

…... __Wait.__

__What?__

__What?!__

__ONE HUNDRED YEARS!__

She could have been __gone__ for ONE HUNDRED YEARS?!

Sarah's breathing all but stopped, and she suddenly went rigid in her chair as this new information forced its way into her brain.

She thought back to the night of her nineteenth birthday. Jareth had said that it was their anniversary. That she had been with him for one year. Had he meant one of __her__ years, or one of __his__?

__Oh my god oh my god oh my god!__

__Okay, breathe Sarah. Just breathe!__

Oberon watched as shock, panic, and fear danced around the girl's pretty features. He had no idea what she was thinking, which was quite a first for him. He was use to being one of the wisest people in the room. Age and experience had rewarded him that, but he was inexperienced when it came to humans. Many fae, even Seelie, regarded humans as lower beings. It wasn't surprising. Fae were an old, proud race and thought they were better then every race, just as humans did in their world.

Oberon could easily look down on this girl for her ignorance, but he didn't feel the urge to. She may have been young, but she wasn't unintelligent, he could tell. Her mute act was probably just a defence mechanism she had developed during her captivity. It was quite obvious to him that the Goblin King had convinced this girl that she wasn't worth anything but serving him. Or at least he had __attempted__ to do so. It appeared this girl still had some fight left in her. For some unknown reason, the fact made Oberon smile.

Meanwhile, Sarah sat in turmoil, trying to reorder her brain to fit this information. A grainy image of Toby suddenly came to sharper focus in her mind, and before she instinctively pushed it away, she remembered that Toby had looked __exactly__ the same as he had the night of her eighteenth birthday as he had the night of her failed escape.

That meant... that meant it really __had__ been just one year here. She would have had no other way to be sure if it hadn't been for Toby's face. As after all, how could she count the days when all she ever saw was night?

"A year here." She finally concluded with a little more confidence than she actually felt. "It's been one year and about a month since I was taken." She added, feeling the need to confirm the time to herself as much as to Oberon. "But wait," She added before Oberon could speak, "If one hundred years is one year in my world, what's one year in your world Aboveground?" She asked the king.

Oberon thought over a way to properly explain.

"Time moves differently here than in your world Sarah. It is difficult to put time into exact measurements here as your world does. Your kind rely on maths and sciences to break down and explain almost everything, whereas here, when such a thing as time and space can be manipulated and altered with ease, it is not so simple. I suppose, if I were going to put an exact calculation to it, I would guess, __guess__," he stresses the word, looking Sarah straight in the eye to emphasize, "That you have been away from your world for no more than one or two hours."

A blossom of genuine hope bloomed in Sarah as she thought over the king's words. Though in no way conclusive, she was more than willing to believe the king's explanation. And if it were true, her parents probably didn't even know she was missing.

Oberon was somewhat startled at the girl's slow growing smile. Apparently, this news was pleasing to her.

"I wonder why the Goblin King didn't think to inform you of this." He questioned aloud.

A pause suddenly came over Sarah's smile and her mood darkened once more. She could only theorize as to why Jareth would have hidden such vital information, but she was pretty sure she knew exactly why.

"Because he wanted to." She replied in a sour tone. "He wanted me to think that my parents were in pain, wondering what had happened to me. Because it would cause __me__ pain. He always went out of his way to cause me as much pain as possible; physical or mental, it didn't really matter." She said quietly, sure she was right.

"He wanted you to hate him?"

"No." Sarah replied quickly, meeting the king's eyes. "He wants me to love him. He took everything away from me, so __he__ could be the one to give it all __back__." She declared with surety. It was a theory she had been working on ever since Jareth had rewarded her with a new room. That's how he had put it, a 'reward' for being 'well behaved.' It had always seemed strange, that he was so determined to take everything from her. Her freedom and free will, her family and her fight, food, sunlight, books, hot water, everything. He had taken __everything__. Than in one grand gesture, he had given it all back. Well, all accept her family and freedom. She believed the reason behind it was that he only wanted her to be grateful for what she was receiving, instead of bitter about what had been taken. It was the first time she had ever put her theory into words, but it did make a twisted kind of sense to her. For she __had__ been grateful, hadn't she? She had been appreciative, and had shown her appreciation quite thoroughly. Even if her love was a lie, she had basked in the freedom that room had given her, however little freedom it had truly been.

"I could see how that would make sense." Oberon commented, hiding his surprise at the declaration of the Goblin King going to such extreme measures for love. Though he knew little of the man personally, from everything informants and spies had told him, Jareth wasn't the type to love anything. Yet here this girl sat. A human girl no less. Held captive for a year, threatened not to leave, clearly abused, and yet... and yet her testimony made sense.

The UnSeelie were an evil breed of fae, not built for real love. If Jareth had truly convinced himself he loved the girl seated before him, Oberon had no doubt that he would be selfish and cruel about his love; only wanting to keep her to himself. It would explain why informants he had had prior to Jordan hadn't informed him of the girl's existence. Though he hid it well, the fact that Jareth had gone to such lengths to keep a human girl in captivity he found very surprising. Surprising and suspicious.

Perhaps the girl was worth more than he had originally thought.

"I want to ask you something Sarah." Oberon said, sitting straighter in his seat. Sarah nodded her consent to be questioned, thinking Oberon would want to know something about Jareth.

"Have you ever heard of the UnSeelie High King?" Oberon asked.

Sarah was slightly taken aback at the question. __Who__? She thought. She had been expecting a question about the Goblin King or his kingdom, not that.

"Who's that?" Sarah inquired, bewildered.

Oberon immediately slumped in his chair, hope deflated.

"That's sort of the problem." Oberon replied in a dreary tone. "No one knows. Even before the war I mentioned to you in the Memorial Room, the UnSeelie High King's identity had been kept a strict secret in the UnSeelie court. No one seems to know who he is. I know that Jareth is one of the more powerful UnSeelie Kings, I was wondering, perchance, if he had mentioned him."

Sarah did a quick sweep of her brain and then shook her head. "The Goblin King didn't exactly involve me in matters of court Your Highness, he basically just..." Sarah let out a small sigh, unable and unwilling to finish those words. "Either way, I've never heard him talk about an UnSeelie High King. Who is he supposed to be, may I ask?"

Oberon gave the girl a curious look, it was getting harder the more they spoke to remember that she was human, and wasn't raised with the knowledge that most Fae children were given. "A High King has power over all in the region Sarah, every king of their kind answers to someone. All the UnSeelie royalty answer to the UnSeelie High King, therefore, the High King has all the power. Knowing who it is could be of immense assistance to our cause, but somehow, the UnSeelie have been able to keep that an incredibly well kept secret."

Sarah thought over the king's explanation carefully, fascinated. She had never thought to pick up a book about Fae politics in Jareth's castle library, and her personal library, perhaps purposefully, never made a single mention of how Fae court was supposed to work. She wondered if Jareth had gone out of his way to ensure that she wouldn't be learning things like this, and wondered exactly __why__.

__To keep you ignorant, most likely__, she thought. __It's not like he needed another reason.__ __He didn't need a smart, well educated slave, just some submissive bitch who followed orders. __

Sarah pulled herself out of an upcoming spiral, she was learning a lot and it wasn't worth brooding over.

"Well then, does that mean that __you__ have a High King?" She asked with interest.

Oberon smiled at the girl with a little too much indulgence.

"No child. I __am__ the Seelie High King." He said.

Sarah closed her eyes out of embarrassment and blushed a deep tomato red. The way he had said that was like he was explaining two plus two to an infant. She had no way of knowing these things, but she still felt like the stupidest person in the world in that moment.

Oberon mercifully continued speaking as though there hadn't been a long, embarrassing pause. "But of course, even I don't know who the UnSeelie fae king is." He said, and Sarah was grateful at his obvious attempts at making her feel less like an idiot.

"That's why I sent Jordan to the Goblin Kingdom, to find some evidence of who the High King was. But instead, he found you." He ended with a slight smile. Sarah stiffened in her chair at the mention of the duke's son. Oberon understood the girl's reaction completely.

"He is your bonded Sarah. He was drawn to you automatically, probably without any kind of explanation as to why. You may hate him for taking you from the Goblin Kingdom without your consent, but no matter what, you two were destined to be with each other."

Sarah was immediately on the defensive. "How can that be true if I'm human? I'm not even supposed to be here."

"Why __are__ you here?" Oberon asked, cutting her off before she could say another word. "How did you come to be here in the first place?"

Sarah cringed slightly at being asked to divulge something so secretive and personal. She had never told anyone about what had happened all those years ago. But then again, she never thought she could tell a soul about what happened to Toby, and she had managed that. And she didn't need to go into to much detail with this king; she only needed to give him the basics.

"When I was fifteen, I wished my brother to the Goblin King." She began, lowering her eyes to her knees in shame at the admittance. "I ran the labyrinth to get him back, and during my run, I ate a peach." Sarah shivered at the memory, her eyes still glued to her lap.

"It was only a bite, but it was enough. Apparently, it bound me to this world, because I ate something grown with magic, I still had the magic inside me when I went home. The day I came of age, the __moment__ I was alone, that was when he came for me." Sarah said, not tempted in the slightest to look anywhere but her neatly folded hands.

Oberon absorbed this new knowledge, looking at the girl with interest.

"Perhaps he didn't __wish__ to claim you." He suggested. "Perhaps the magic of the peach forced him to."

Sarah was quick to reject the theory, "No, it was his intent to trap me. He meant for me to eat that peach. I know because he gave it to a... friend... of mine to give it to me." Sarah said quietly, rejecting the image of her 'friend' before it could fully form in her mind. She hadn't once laid the blame of anything that happened at her 'friend's' door, but just like with her family, thinking of them hurt too much to do so. She missed them and couldn't be with them, what was the point in wallowing?

Oberon thought this over before deciding to continue his original path of thought.

"The circumstances of you being here may be grim Sarah, but I promise you this, if you were born bonded with Jordan - and you would have had to be since this kind of bond cannot be forged - then no matter what, you were always meant to find a way into the Underground. Fae cannot live in your world, for there is simply not enough magic to sustain them in your world anymore, but humans can live perfectly well __here__. Some, who have been here long enough, even develop powers, and all cease ageing the moment they begin to absorb the magic of this world."

Sarah had looked up at the High King's words. She was curious as to the king's explanation, and relieved the focus of the conversation was no longer on her specifically.

"If I might, just how many humans are there in this place? And what do you mean they don't age?" Sarah questioned, intrigued.

Oberon was glad he was finally getting her to talk to him, without even realising it, by expressing curiosity, she was showing her true self and not hiding behind the veil of submission she had been since he met her.

"I can't exactly say how many humans are in the Underground. No one really keeps track, and until two days ago, I didn't even know __you__ were here. The last human I met was a few hundred years ago when I visited the kingdom of Asservaretur, the Hippogriff Kingdom. This human had been there a while; he had accidentally found a fae object which still held a great deal of magic. It was a flute if I remember correctly. Apparently the man was a Marine Geologist," the words sounded strange in the king's mouth, "Who came across the flute while exploring an underwater cavern. Once the flute was brought to the surface, the magic was activated. The man was brought before the flute's original owner before he had a chance to put the flute down. It was actually quite an amusing story at court for several years following. The flute had belonged to a young Marquess who had succeeded his father in the king's court a few years previously. Apparently he was in the middle of... intimate relations... with his wife when the man arrived. Still dripping wet, and screaming in terror because he didn't have a clue where he was."

Sarah couldn't contain the giggle that rose to her lips at Oberon's anecdote. She was too amused by the story to feel surprised at herself for genuinely giggling. She hadn't genuinely giggled in ages, but the story had her covering her mouth in amused embarrassment. She almost felt sorry for the man, and most definitely felt sorry for the Fae and his wife. She had no doubt what activity Oberon was stressing when he spoke of 'intimate relations.' A wet screaming human would sure put a damper on the mood.

Oberon smiled as well, though he had heard the tale many times, the sound of the girl's laugh was pleasing. She almost sounded like his own wife.

"Anyway," He continued as though he had been uninterrupted. "That man was given a job as the assistant to the Marquess once they had grown fond of one another. To this day, I believe they are still close friends. Though I believe his wife still holds something of a grudge."

Sarah put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing again.

"As to your other question, I suppose humans do age here, but they age like us. As one human year is equivalent to a hundred years here, you could live hundreds of years and age very slowly. Eventually, your features would mature, but it would take a great deal of time." He concluded.

Sarah absorbed this knowledge thoughtfully. So she hadn't aged at all since she had arrived Underground. If, by human terms, she was only a few hours older than eighteen, then of __course__ she wouldn't look any different.

If she stayed, it would take centuries for her to look different.

If she stayed. There she went again, thinking as though she actually had a choice in the matter.

Oberon watched the smile melt from the girl's face, and wondered what was happening inside that head of hers. The next words she spoke brought him back to the point he had been trying to make all along.

"I don't hate Jordan for bringing me here." She finally said honestly, raising her gaze to once again stare at the High King, "But he was wrong. I know he was only trying to help, you both are, but for whatever reason you want me here, whatever... fascination you seem to have with this 'bonded' thing, it doesn't take priority with me. I'm sorry. But no matter what either of you say, my brother is in danger. Jar... the Goblin King, will only wait so long before he decides to take action, and believe me when I say this, because while I don't believe he would start a war for me, he will __never__ stop trying to get me. If he thought, even for a moment, that I wasn't trying to get __back__ to him as badly as he was trying to __get__ to me, Toby would be the first casualty."

Oberon thought over her declaration thoughtfully. He had listened to Jordan beg him not to return the girl, and had listened to the girl beg to be returned. As king, it was almost his obligation to concede to the girl's please, but he also had an obligation to protect the people in his care. It wasn't really his choice to make, and yet the decision was, ultimately, his.

Perhaps if he was entirely honest with the girl, maybe then she would at least concede to giving him time to think this matter over.

"I want to tell you something Sarah. And I want you to listen, really listen, to what I have to say." He told her attentively. Sarah didn't once doubt the intensity in his stare, and as if the fact had only just occurred to her, she realised that for the past half hour or so, she had been sitting having an almost casual conversation with the most powerful Fae in, perhaps, the entire Underground.

Humbled and intrigued by this, she gave the king her full attention and nodded her head for him to continue.

"Eight-thousand years ago, the war that plagued this world for two centuries, the war that claimed the lives of countless Fae and magical creatures alike, claimed the life of my own father, started almost without warning. The relations between Seelie and UnSeelie were unstable, yes, but it had always been so. Than, one night, during a celebration in the kingdom of Tenebris, past the Northern Plains, something happened that changed everything.

"The Northlands used to be a mix of both Seelie and UnSeelie territories, and several kingdoms resided there, despite the long journey one must take over the northern oceans to reach it. King Aurum was hosting an annual... well; I suppose 'gathering' would be the correct term. It was the only real place Seelie and UnSeelie could go to mingle. The party was almost drawing to a close when out of nowhere; someone heard a scream from one of the courtyards. A body had been found there. A prince. My own brother Zoreion."

Sarah's eyes turned as big as saucers as she understood what he was telling her.

"Your brother?" She whispered, almost frightened to raise her voice any louder then a tremor.

Oberon nodded grimly.

Sarah raised her hand to cover her mouth. "I'm so sorry." She said sincerely.

Oberon gave a single nod accepting her condolences, before pushing ahead with his tale. "He was found with a dagger in his heart. A quick evaluation of the murder weapon confirmed that UnSeelie magic had been used to make the dagger, and the dagger was also coated with a poison only UnSeelie would use. My brother was the heir to the Seelie throne; his murder was a clear declaration of war."

"Did they ever find out who did it?" Sarah asked after a lengthy pause, both horrified and intrigued by the king's tale. She felt for him. She knew how hard it was to lose a brother, and technically, Toby had only been dead for a few hours. Judging by the fact that Oberon was now the High King, she could guess that no one at this party had been there to bring him back to life.

"No." Oberon answered her question shortly, bringing her focus right back to him again. "Many accusations were thrown, but the culprit was never identified. It didn't matter. It was clearly an UnSeelie who had murdered him. Not much of that night was really all that clear to me, other than the fact that the kingdom hosting the party was completely destroyed from battle. After which both Seelie and UnSeelie were forced to evacuate the island and head for their own kingdoms. The kingdoms on that island were exterminated mere hours later.

"After that, war was declared, all connection between Seelie and UnSeelie were promptly severed, and all dark creatures residing in Seelie territories were either executed or banished to the Northlands. It's been an island of dark creatures ever since." Oberon explained, taking another short rest in his tale, allowing Sarah to absorb all the new knowledge.

Sarah, for her part, was beginning to remember something she had read in one of her personal library books in Jareth's castle. Their hadn't been anything about war or fighting between Seelie and UnSeelie, but there __had__ been an analysis of almost all mythical creatures in the Underground. The book had described, in cliff notes, the magical properties and preferred dwellings of all creatures from gnomes and fairies, to ogres and trolls. But the one that was sticking in Sarah's head now was one of her old favourites. She had had a favourite mythical creature back before she had even known any of this was actually real, and the prospect of doing real research on this animal had excited her dramatically, even during her chained captivity.

She remembered reading something about the Northlands, and it being the preferred habitat of...

"Dragons." Sarah breathed in an awed whisper.

Oberon's surprised smirk was something to behold.

"So you have been learning." He said, impressed.

Sarah nodded feverishly. The book she had read had spoken mostly of Wyvern: a two legged species of dragon that was smaller than typical dragon's, but had both the ability to breathe fire and poison you with a single bite. Though if the thing got a hold of you it was doubtful you would live long enough for the poison to reach your bloodstream. They were fantastic hunters, and because they were a kind of water-dragon hybrid, they were also fantastic at hiding and hunting underwater, as well as enduring harsh winters that would freeze lesser beings to ice.

The book had also stated, almost as an afterthought, that most of them now resided in the abandoned Northlands, but as hardly any went near there anymore, it was a theory that could never be fully confirmed.

Oberon saw the gleam in Sarah's eye, and knew she was intrigued. __Good, it will make what I have to say next easier to understand__, he thought.

"Yes, dragons. Though not many believe it, the Northlands would be an ideal place for dragons to breed, where they don't have to hunt in secret or hide from us Fae. I believe humans also have their own version of the same dragon, Wyvern?" Oberon inquired.

Sarah nodded again, to excited to form words.

"Yes well, as you may know, or may have read, all mythical creatures had counterparts that made their way into the human world at one time or another, but as you might have guessed, just like the Fae, mythical creatures do not sustain the same amount of power there as they do here. They were able to live reasonably well in the beginning of your kind's civilisation, but as time progressed and humans began to evolve, most of their power weakened. Many retreated back to this world then, which is why none of your kind has ever discovered any skeletal remains or bone fragments belonging to them. It is also why your kind speaks of the Wyvern as a lower class of dragon. Wyverns were not very powerful in your world at all, and were far inferior to typical dragons. But in __this__ world, with magic to thrive on, Wyvern are brutal and dangerous, and have almost bred out mostly all other kind of dragon. It is said that they reside in the abandoned Northlands territories, and while some do not believe it, I do."

Sarah's eyes sparkled with interest at the king's words. Worked up, she asked, "You think dragons are still alive?"

Oberon smirked and nodded. "I do, and I also think that they have taken residence in the ruins of the kingdoms that were destroyed during the war. I even went so far as to send someone to confirm it. In fact, I've sent several people."

Sarah sat in stunned silence; she felt her heart pumping way to fast despite the fact that she had been sitting doing nothing for the past hour. The conversation was starting to have an almost intoxicating affect. She hadn't been able to talk to anyone like this in a long time. It almost felt like she was back at school, duelling with one of her old professors. The memory made her want to smile.

"Why?" She finally asked.

"Because the Wyvern have something I need. And without it, I am afraid that we may not be able to see the next generation of Seelie children grow before war is upon us again."

Sarah's heart almost beat out of her chest at his words, she unconsciously lost her well sustained posture and leaned forward in her chair, biting her lip and willing him to continue.

"I fear the time is close that another war may be upon us Sarah. Only this time we have an opportunity to defend ourselves against it. The last time this world was at war, the Seelie were victorious at keeping the throne, but that did not mean that the UnSeelie would never try again. A good few years ago I found something that may stop this approaching war before it has a chance to begin." Then he stood, completely without warning, causing Sarah to throw herself back in her seat and be dizzy for a few moments at the slight blood rush. But Oberon didn't notice as he walked around his desk and towards the wall of books. Sarah shifted in her chair to keep him in focus, ignoring the stiffness of her back from where she had been sitting in the same place for to long.

Oberon approached his library, and then turned back to the girl in the chair who was watching him intently.

"I must ask for your vow not to repeat what I am about to show you to anyone." He told her seriously.

Sarah nodded her head feverishly in consent.

Oberon turned his back on the girl and muttered a few words under his breath, waving his hand over the middle shelf of books.

Almost at once, the shelf began to haze and shift as though the very books and shelves they sat upon were melting. Sarah blinked her eyes a few times to confirm exactly what it was she was seeing.

Soon the shelves had rearranged themselves so that there was now a big gaping hole in the wall, but though Oberon's back was blocking most of the view, Sarah could see from her seat that it was not empty.  
Oberon put his hand into the hazing magic and pulled out a single, small, worn leather book. As soon as he had done so, the library shifted and returned to its original form.

Green eyes followed him as he walked back to his desk, gently placing the tattered book on the desk.

"It was my ancestors." Oberon explained seeing the girl's stare. "Before my father passed on, he made a will, and in it my father insisted that I use this office for private contemplation as he, and his father before him, had done. It wasn't until I had been king for several centuries that it occurred to me that he may have been alluding to something specific. It took me decades to find this, and even longer to be able to translate it." He explained, gesturing to the tattered little red book.

Sarah had only half listened to the king's explanation, because her eyes were so effectively burning into the small book.

__It couldn't be__, she thought warily, half reaching out her hand to touch the battered thing.

The small red book lying on the desk, though worn with age and tattered with handling, bore a striking resemblance to a small little red book she, herself, owned.

The Labyrinth looked exactly the same as this, though this book didn't have the title, they were the exact same size, and, though it was clearly very old, it was almost exactly the same shade of red.

Her hand was almost on it before Oberon's voice grounded her.

"Don't." He said, not harshly, but still in a commanding tone. Sarah withdrew her hand as though she were burned and looked up at the king expectantly.

"The book is far too old to be handled by human hands, one must use extreme care, least the pages crumble and knowledge be lost." He said, slowly pulling the book back towards him.

"This book holds ancient information about a possible way to defeat the UnSeelie race once and for all. By the evaluation of the text, one could only theorize that it was written mere years after the birth of the race, aeons before my time."

"Do you know who wrote it?" Sarah asked at once, completely unable to conceal her excitement. She had always longed to know the name of the person who had written The Labyrinth, and though Oberon's explanation left her doubting the conclusion that the two books were connected, she still couldn't help but hope...

"No." Oberon sighed. Sarah met his gaze slowly, feeling momentary confusion before realising he had in fact answered her question.

__Get a grip Sarah, this book is aeons old, and The Labyrinth had to be written fairly recently. It was in English; after all, __you__ didn't have to take years to decrypt it. __

But the nagging suspicion in her brain just kept pulsing. She had always suspected some mystical force was behind The Labyrinth tale, especially after she had discovered that everything written in the book was real. From the labyrinth, to its ruler, to the magical creatures that inhabited it.

It had also happened to provide her with the information necessary to defeat the Goblin King, of which she had always been grateful.

She had done research back home, but had never been able to find out who had written it, nor had she ever seen another copy like hers in a book-store or anywhere else.

Sarah shook her head and decided to keep her theory to herself. She had no proof, and little conviction either way. And besides, her copy of The Labyrinth was buried underneath mountains of junk in the attic of her old home. She was quickly distracted as Oberon began to speak again.

"In this book contains information about an ancient spell that, in theory, can be used to kill the Unseelie High King. But that really is only the tip of it. This book also speaks of a way to destroy the line of UnSeelie blood and eradicate the disease once and for all. Finding the man and killing him would be simple enough if we could discover who he was, but we want to do more than simply destroy the king, we want to obliterate the entire line of UnSeelie blood. It is the theory of whoever wrote this book that once the king falls, so will the bloodline. As will any creature hybrids created in darkness."

Sarah took in a sharp breath. "And you believe this theory?" She questioned, awed.

"I do not believe that my ancestors kept this book through countless generations for nothing." Oberon said with conviction that could not be argued with. "In the book, it speaks of a spell. A spell that must be built with several rare ingredients in order to defeat the UnSeelie High King and his kind. One of those ingredients is the venom of a Wyvern. A very potent magic, and possibly the most impossible to acquire on this list." He indicated the book.

Sarah sat with the king's words in silence. This conversation was almost getting to be too much for her. She could practically feel her brain sparking and swirling as all the different thoughts and possibilities crammed in her mind.

Since the king had made no opposition to her doing so, she decided to ask another question.

"So, you sent people to this island, this abandoned kingdom, to hunt dragons?" She asked hesitantly.

Oberon nodded his head in affirmation.

"Why now?" She questioned.

Oberon thought over his explanation before deciding to be completely honest. He was slightly wary of divulging absolutely everything he knew to this girl, but did truly believe that trusting her could benefit them both. He needed her trust, after all, what he was going to ask her to do...

"Because I am tired of waiting for the UnSeelie to attack us at their leisure as they did before. After the war, the old king decided to travel back to his shattered kingdom – against my father's advice – and was killed almost as soon as his feet hit solid ground."

"By dragons?" Sarah questioned.

"No." Oberon shook his head. "By magic. All magic leaves a stain. And much magic blood was spilled on that island before it was destroyed. The combination of both dark and light magic would be capable of crippling even the strongest Fae to his knees. For many centuries, no one dared travel there. Then rumours began to spread of fishing boats spotting things flying in the sky towards the north. It was than believed that dragons had taken refuge in the wreckage of the broken kingdoms of Tenebris.

"For years, no one has dared to discover if the rumours are true. But as I said, I am tired of waiting." Oberon announced. Sarah thought she had never seen anyone as regal as the man seated opposite her.

But then the king almost seemed to slump. It wasn't like any kind of lagging Sarah had ever seen. Somehow he still looked regal and proud even as he slouched in his seat.

__I'd never be able to pull that off__, she thought enviously.

"But that is where my brilliant vision comes to a halt, it seems. I sent a party to travel across the Northern Plains about three months ago, and have heard nothing back from the party since they past a boundary on the northern ocean. I was almost on the brink of giving up on hope completely..." and here he seemed to sit straighter again, his attention fully on her. A gleam in his eyes that made Sarah quite uncomfortable.

"And then I saw you and young Jordan join hands, and witnessed a connection my own father spoke in awe of." He said with an almost dreamy haze.

Sarah had to refrain from sagging completely in her seat. She was still in the presence of a king and had not forgotten that she should behave as such. But she still couldn't keep a small, agitated sigh from passing her lips as she flicked a stray strand of hair from her forehead and met the king's gaze with force.

"Your Highness," she sighed almost warily. "I don't know what it is that you think having this special glow is going to be able to help you with, but I can tell you now, that if it is your plan to go to war, I will be of absolutely no use to you."

Oberon regarded the girl with sympathy, but refused to be swayed. He met her sigh and spoke to her firmly.

"Sarah. Perhaps I __am__ being irrational. Seeing a bonfire of glory when there is but a wisp of flame, but you have to understand. The last two people that shared this connection fought the war against the UnSeelie almost entirely on their own. They commanded heavy forces, yielded the loyalty of hundreds, and it was their sacrifice that led the Seelie crown to victory at the final battle at Somnum so, yes, perhaps I __am__ putting to much pressure on yourself and Jordan, and perhaps I __am__ simply being a sentimental old man, expecting you both to follow in the Bellator brothers footsteps, but I simply can not stop myself from having expectations."

Sarah said the first thing that came to her mind, "Sir. You keep insisting that me and Jordan have this... connection, but I can honestly tell you that all the things you were describing last night, about how your supposed to feel '__protective'__ and '__devoted'__ to the other person, __I don't feel__. I don't have a clue what Jordan feels, or why he is going through so much effort to keep me here, and to convince __you__ to keep me here, but whatever it is, __I don't feel it__. I didn't ask for this connection, and I didn't ask to be saved, I just wanted to do my job, and be left alone!"

"Your job?" Oberon questioned, dismissing the girl's tone in favour of her distressed mind.

"Protecting my brother. __That's__ my job. That's the only thing I'm good for, and right now I am failing. Miserably. As I said before, Jareth does not make idle threats, and whether its now or a year from now, somehow, I know he is going to get me back, whether you do as I ask or not. It's only whether Toby is still breathing that will be in question by the time that day comes." She panted and raved.

And it seemed this long conversation had come full circle.

They had hit many avenues since Sarah had sat down. Her and Jordan, the UnSeelie kingdom, war and mystical creatures. And now she was back where she had been since the start of this weekend from hell, begging to be released from a place that had actually shown her quite a lot of kindness, to return to a place she knew she would be languishing without any kindness for many years to come.

What was worse was that now she had vanished, if Jareth did get her back, she had no doubt she would have to endure a long penance for her disappearance. Even if he believed she hadn't escaped of her own accord, there was no question in Sarah's mind that it would take another few years just to claw herself back to where she had been in the first place before all this craziness had happened.

__Okay, so I lied__, Sarah thought as she felt the familiar treacherous prickle of tears enter her eyes, __I __am__ angry at Jordan for taking me.__

Oberon sighed again at the sight of the girl's watery eyes. So, they were back to this then. The girl was clearly far too stubborn to be swayed from her duty. Protecting her brother was simply too important to her. But her claim that she did not feel the bond as he knew it should be felt, as he knew Jordan felt, was fascinating to him. She had been in the Goblin King's capture for over a year. He wondered if __he__ had anything to do with this.

"Sarah. I know your worried about your brother, and the safety of your other family, but I am going to ask you to do something for me, and that is, give me some time. Just a little time to try and come up with some kind of solution to this problem of yours. If I am entirely honest, I do not wish for you to leave, but I will not go so far as to restrain you if you try to leave on your own. All I am asking for is a little time to sort through everything I know." He humbly pleaded with her.

Sarah was quite taken aback by the king's request. __Request__. __He could just as easily lock me in some room somewhere if he really didn't want me to go, but instead he's asking me to stay. __

__But how long can you really __afford__ to __wait__ Sarah? You __know__ Jareth. You know he won't stop until he gets you back, no matter what it takes. He could even use Toby to lure you out. Is it really worth the risk?__

Sarah thought over her entire conversation with Oberon. He had divulged so much, even though he wasn't under any kind of obligation to her at all, he had spoken to her, had shown trust and faith in her, and even though she thought that faith was soulfully misguided, the least she could do was give the king some faith in return.

In the end, despite her fear, Sarah decided to give the king a firm deadline.

"I'll wait three days." She declared.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah was starving and exhausted after leaving Oberon's office. She didn't remember the last time she had eaten, and the conversation had been both draining and strenuous. She had felt too suffocated in his presence after she had presented the king – the __High King__ – with an ultimatum. Fix the problem or she was leaving. She wondered if she should even be attempting to dance on these eggshells, but she knew that no matter what, nothing was going to get in the way of protecting Toby. Of that she was sure.

The next two days were completely uneventful. Sarah, still way to nervous, had requested to be allowed to eat her food alone instead of in the feast halls where everyone seemed to take their meals. She felt awkward for being awkward, and was sure she was probably just drawing more attention to herself for acting this way, but she had no desire to be around the king, for she knew if she saw him she would be unable to stop herself from pestering him. She also had absolutely no desire to see Jordan again, and was therefore not entirely surprised when she ran into him in Oberon's castle library one evening.

The library was smaller then the one in Goblin City. But it was a good kind of smaller. Cosy, with the same kind of old yet contemporary charm Sarah could already see herself missing.

Jareth's castle was as soulless as him, but this place was brimming with light and life.

It had been around nine at night two days after the talk with Oberon that she stumbled across him, sitting at a library table scattered with thin, aged pages and fresh parchment he seemed to be scribing on. A small candle burning neatly beside him as he worked.

Sarah had intended to simply sneak by him completely unnoticed, but just like in everything, her attempts were futile. Perhaps it was this mystery connection he felt between them that made him look up at the exact moment she was scurrying away, or perhaps it was simply the patting of her shoes. Either way, when she heard his voice call, "Sarah," from behind her, she could only sigh in resignation and turn back to face him.

Jordan beckoned her forward, having seen hardly any of her these last few days; he was excited to be in her company again. Sarah approached him reluctantly, hoping that he would keep whatever he wanted brief.

"Won't you sit?" He asked, indicating the empty chair right beside him. Sarah internally groaned. She didn't want to sit through another mind numbingly long conversation, but, then again, this may be the last time she would ever get to speak to anyone who wasn't the Goblin King. Frustrated, she sat, but decided to take the safer seat that was on the other side of the desk. Jordan didn't comment on her choice of seat and shuffled the thin pages into a small pile.

"What are you doing anyway?" Sarah questioned, not at all comfortable to simply sit in silence with him. Sarah thought it was actually rather funny, in a sad, ironic kind of way. She had been a very social being before Jareth had kidnapped her, and now, thanks to her 'training,' she always started to get uncomfortable if she was around __anyone__ for to long.

__Bastard__, she thought casually, as Jordan looked up at her and spoke.

"I'm reading all the notes King Oberon's ancestors made on Heroes Cordis, he gave them to me after you left the Memorial Room the other day." Jordan said, trying to appear casual, not wanting to overwhelm her and have her run from him as she had already done so many times before.

Knowing there was a legitimate reason as to why he had been behaving so insanely towards this girl he didn't even know, was comforting. But apparently, not to her.

A confused expression sat on the face of the green eyed girl before Jordan clarified.

"Heroes Cordis. The bond." He explained.

Sarah barely refrained from moaning as her memory registered the term. __Great. I should have known we'd end up talking about this. __

Jordan took in her expression and decided to try and steer the conversation into more comforting territory.

He gestured to the notebook he had been scribing in.

"I've been making notes on it myself. Most of the stuff here was written by King Oberon's father Minus. Did you know that before the Bellator brothers came before King Minus asking questions about the golden glow, pretty much every other couple who have ever had this thing, however few, were executed for it."

Sarah drew her brow as her eyes widened at the abrupt piece of knowledge. Against her will, she was intrigued.

"Executed? Why?"

Jordan shrugged one shoulder. "Fear, I suppose." He gestured to the thin stack of papers. "According to King Minus, many past kings demanded the full loyalties of every subject in their kingdoms, and, as Oberon said, when two people have this bond, their loyalty is compromised. In the past, any bonded couple found, however few over the last few millennia, were ordered beheaded by their king."

Sarah shook her head at the word 'beheaded.' Of course, she had grown up in a different world. More advanced, she often thought. People didn't go around beheading people in her world. At least not legally and certainly not with the world's approval. It was odd to think she was now practically living in the past. Where archaic rituals like that were still carried out.

"But then... what about the Bellator brothers? Why weren't they beheaded?"

Jordan hid his excitement in engaging her in a regular conversation. He allowed only a small smirk to grace his lips before once again gesturing to the papers on the desk, drawing the candle closer to him with one hand, he bent his head over the journal he had been writing in and read the notes he had made.

"Apparently, the brothers were already famous fighters before the king found out about the connection, and according to some of his personal scribing, he said that he considered having them executed as his great great grandfather had done with the last bonded couple, but refrained. Instead he decided to watch how the brothers behaved. They had already sworn loyalty to him as soldiers, so he took the risk of letting them rise in the ranks to power. When they were both elected chief lieutenants of a vital part of Minus's army, everyone expected the brothers to fight over the position, but instead, they worked together as they always had. Minus declared that he would not behead them simply for being born with something they couldn't control, and decided to tell them about the bond."

"How did they take it?" Sarah asked, unknowingly relaxing in the library chair, quietly enjoying the casualness of the conversation.

Jordan's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Better than you." He almost chuckled. Sarah huffed in irritation and rolled her eyes. He chuckled a little louder at her reaction to his words and was met with a prompt 'Shhhh' from the other side of the room. Sarah bit her lip to hold in a surprise giggle. It was almost like being back at school.

"Anyway," Jordan continued as though there had been no interruption. "The brothers, apparently, had never told anyone about the glow, not even their own father, and knew just as little about what it really did as Minus. Not one of the High Kings before Minus thought to do proper research on the phenomenon, and simply turned their backs and tried to hide from it. It was Minus who dubbed the connection 'Heroes Cordis.' It roughly translates into 'heroes heart.' He named it so after the brothers saved his life at the battle of Somnum."

Sarah almost hated her own growing interest in this, but as she had thought before, learning about this kind of stuff was what she lived for back home. If she squinted just right, she could almost convince herself that she was in her old college library, sparring with another student over different interpretations of some forgotten lore or piece of history.

The thought made her smile and frown at the same time. She needed something to distract herself with.

"How did they save him?" She asked the first question that came to mind.

Jordan answered as though unaware of the girl's confusing mood swings.

"It was an all or nothing battle. Fought on a field in one of the largest UnSeelie kingdoms, and a lot of the kings, both Seelie and UnSeelie alike, were there. Minus decided to fight with his army, knowing the outcome of this battle would result in either keeping the bulk of the Underground's power under Seelie control, or having the UnSeelie take over everything.

"They fought, and it is a little difficult to explain how fae fight in battles. Magic and spells as well as swords and weapons. I've learned bits and pieces about the war growing up, and many have written books on the subject, but I don't want to bore you with a lot of ancient literature. So I'll keep it brief. Apparently, Minus was fighting three UnSeelie kings at once. And while he could best all of them separately, it wasn't so easy three on one. He got hit with a powerful curse, and his own magic was weakened. The kings would have finished him off if not for the brothers. Both killed all three kings within moments. With __swords__."

Sarah stifled another small giggle at the enthralled gleam in Jordan's eyes. __Dork,__ she thought almost affectionately.

"They were doing well, but the UnSeelie outnumbered them, soon it was only the brothers, the king, and a few other Seelie standing. And now the High King was injured, what UnSeelie left had high motivation. The brothers told the others to escort the king from the battlefield, and just before he was taken away, he turned in time to see the brothers throw down their gloves and join hands. He describes the golden glow as brighter than anything he had ever seen, and at first it didn't hurt to look, but soon it was like it was growing too largely to contain. Soon, the light consumed them, and then practically everything else on the field before the king lost consciousness. When he came to he was told that the golden glow had created a huge explosion that had killed not only every UnSeelie in the area, but the Bellator brothers as well. The king writes that somehow the men knew what to do, and what to use that strange power for when the time arose. Losing practically every reigning king crippled the Unseelie movement and they stopped advanced marches almost immediately. Soldiers were called back and all threats to the crown ended. The Seelie won, and those two brothers were responsible. Minus never told anyone about the bond, and swore those others who saw the glow to secrecy. He did give the brothers credit though, and had that portrait commissioned. Along with several statues of them scattered around the gardens. But the portrait we saw was supposed to be for his eyes only."

Sarah absorbed everything Jordan was saying with a slightly tilted head, than she smiled weakly, "Well, I guess we know why King Oberon didn't execute __us__." She said with distain. Jordan chuckled quietly and nodded his head in agreement.

Sarah regarded him carefully before just deciding to flat out ask, "You don't honestly believe this... __thing...__ __chooses__ the hearts of heroes do you? I mean, according to those," she said, gesturing to the notes Jordan had been half reciting, "The other High Kings didn't keep any other 'bonded' around long enough for them to earn that title. For all we know, the Bellator brothers were a fluke."

Jordan merely shook his head slightly in disagreement. "No. While the rest of what you said is true, I don't believe the Bellator brothers were a fluke. They were just as much in the dark about what the magic behind the golden glow did as we were, but when their hands met in the battlefield, somehow, they used that power they didn't know a thing about to end the war, sacrificing themselves in the process. The Bellator brothers were role-models for every young boy growing up after the war, myself included. Knowing that whatever it was in them that gave them the strength to take their own lives, knowing that it's now in __me__, I have to say... yes. Maybe I'm being brash and cocky for believing it, but whatever this thing is that chose us, it __chose__ us. Out of hundreds of others, after actual __real__ heroes, it chose __us__." He declared with dramatic intensity, willing her to believe as he did.

Sarah simply shook her head more, looking down at her hands.

Jordan decided to ask a question of his own.

"Why are you so against the belief that you have a hero's heart?" He asked her quietly. Sarah didn't even look up at him as she softly replied, "Because I'm __not__ a hero."

Silence followed her remark before Jordan replied, "Are you sure?"

Sarah's head shot up at his slightly condescending tone.

"What do you mean, 'am I sure'?"

"Exactly what I said." Jordan replied with as much indignation as her. "You told me what the Goblin King did to you, __has__ done to you, and yet, your still here. You survived..."

"Out of __necessity__. Nothing more!" Sarah was quick to cut him off; Jordan threw her an irritated look before continuing. "You've endured countless horrors at the hand of this man Sarah, and yet for the fate of another, the life of another, you're willing to throw yourself right back into the arms of the man who forced those horrors upon you. All for your brother..."

"Don't!" Sarah hissed sharply, interrupting again. The library was now virtually empty, given the lateness of the hour, and the two young people sat glaring at each other in the silence that followed.

"Don't what?" Jordan asked finally, almost snidely.

"Don't make it sound like it was some grand, selfless, heroic gesture. It was __my__ __fault__ he was here in the first place! It was __my__ __fault__ Jareth did what he did to him!" She yelled as loudly as she could through the broken tear-cracked whimper in her voice.

Jordan refused to give in to her tears. Though it hurt him to see them, he was desperate to try and break through this submissive pretence she had. He had seen flashes of her fire, in the woods and in the Memorial Room, but what he really wanted was for it to be blazing from her eyes without being obstructed by all that pain.

"How was it your fault?" He inquired in a slightly raised voice. He wanted her to be angry, with him, with anyone, it didn't matter. He saw the most of her fire when she was angry.

"Because I did it! __I__ wished him away. __I__ gave Toby to that monster! My own brother!" She screamed hysterically, throwing library etiquette to the wind, not caring if anyone heard them. "And I meant it." She continued bitterly, glaring at an empty patch of wood on the desk between them. "I may not have known the magic was real, or that someone __would__ come for him, but in the moment I wished him away I __meant__ it. Everything that's happened. To me, to Toby, it's all __my__ fault" She whimpered tearfully, but with conviction. In her grief, she once again admitted something to the boy she never thought she could say to anyone. "I deserve this."

Jordan's mouth, which had been opened, ready to retort, hung open at her sad words.

Sarah continued to speak her truth, oblivious to anything around her. "I deserve everything that's happened to me. Everything he's done to me. Before I ran his labyrinth I was a petulant spoiled conceited selfish brat who took out all her woes on a small child who couldn't even defend himself. I wished him away to that monster, and I meant __every word__ of the wish. Words have power. He wouldn't have answered my call if I hadn't meant it." She concluded, slumping in her chair and burying her face in her hands in an obvious attempt to mask her tears.

Jordan regarded her small form in the dim lighting of the few candles still burning in the library. She was so beautiful, even like this. Tear-stained and crying and completely helpless. He truly did wish he had known the person she was before Jareth had wormed his way into her head.

Without thought, he stood up, walked around the table to crouch down in front of her. Keeping his voice soft he said, "Sarah, look at me."

As a reflex, Sarah reluctantly raised her head at the command, and was shocked to see him so close. Without thinking at all, Jordan reached up and wiped her tears gently away from her cheeks. Sarah recoiled slightly at his touch, as though expecting to be punished for letting her tears flow, as she had been many times in the past. Jordan misread her reaction as discomfort to him being so close to her and leaned back a bit, but kept himself crouched before her. Looking up into her watery green eyes he said, "There is __nothing__ in this world you could have done that would have been bad enough to deserve what he did to you Sarah." He said with conviction, Sarah wanted to look away from him, but his eyes burned with an intensity that demanded to be paid attention to. "You say you meant it when you wished Toby away? But that didn't stop you from beating the labyrinth to get him back. And do you want to know something Sarah?" He asked rhetorically, Sarah still didn't look away. "Do you know how many people have won the labyrinth? None." He declared with certainty. Sarah's eyes grew as wide as saucers but Jordan ploughed on before she could interrupt. "I've learnt a lot about the UnSeelie kings and their kingdoms Sarah. When I was a child and my father use to beat the crap out of my mother and me, and lock me in my room, sometimes for days at a time, reading was all I could do. And I've learnt a lot over the years. As you might of guessed, I'm not very old, in fact, in human years, I'd say that I am perhaps little older than yourself, but I __do__ know things. I know that there has never been a recording of anyone else ever defeating the labyrinth, with Jareth on the throne or any other before him. And, while there is also no documentation of __your__ run, I believe that is only because the Goblin King didn't want anyone to know he was planning on holding you hostage in his castle. By all the laws of the labyrinth, the runner is supposed to be safe. The ruler of the labyrinth may try to divert the runner from reaching their destination, but they are technically protected by the labyrinth. What he has done to you is as close to illegal as anything I can think of. But despite how many other people have ran and failed, __you__ succeeded. And that must have meant that you were a hell of a lot more determined to retrieve your brother then any other wisher before you. You were a fighter Sarah, you still are. I know that part of you is still in there somewhere, squirming to be free again. You beat him once Sarah. Don't sit in front of me now and tell me that just because it is your own life you're fighting for, that you can't defeat him again!"

Sarah couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Jordan's words had burned themselves into her brain along with the startling conviction behind them. __He really does believe in me doesn't he? Way more than I believe in myself. Is this the bond talking, or is this just him?__ Sarah wanted to say something, anything to escape the piercing faith that shone from his wide blue eyes. He was so close to her, and the way he was staring at her... it was with a burning passion she had never seen or felt before. __Ever__.

But before she could say anything, the intense intimacy of the moment was abruptly shredded to pieces as a voice of a stranger said, "Lady Sarah?"

Sarah jumped halfway out of her chair and Jordan quickly stood to assess the threat of the intruder. His stance relaxed slightly as he saw it was one of Oberon's messengers, but his frame remained rigid as he addressed the man. "Yes? What is it?" His tone was sharp and clipped.

The messenger regarded Jordan with something close to contempt before once again addressing Sarah, "Lady Sarah, King Oberon requests your presence in the Throne Room. Now." The messenger said.

Sarah, still a little shocked from the backlash of her conversation with Jordan, had to take some time for the messenger's words to register in her mind. Thankfully, Jordan saved her from making herself look anymore slow or stupid. Holding out his hand for her to take, he murmured comfortingly, "Come."

Sarah looked at his hand, and saw it as a challenge. Seeing that he was – once again – adorning his gloves, she hesitantly placed her hand in his and let him glide her out of her seat. He squeezed her hand lightly in his own, and for whatever reason, the gesture made her feel safe.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

"Did the king mention what this was about?" Sarah questioned the messenger as she and Jordan followed him down the hall hand in hand. The messenger shook his head. "No my lady, just that he needed to speak with you urgently. I was only supposed to escort you, but I had a little trouble finding you." The man said, probably explaining why they seemed to be rushing down the hallway instead of moving at a smooth pace.

__I wonder if this is about what we talked about two days ago__, Sarah thought. She hadn't forgotten she had given the king a deadline to come up with some alternative way to keep Toby safe without her returning to the Goblin Kingdom. She hadn't forgotten that tomorrow would make it day three and the end of his deadline. She had meant what she had said, though after her conversation with Jordan she was beginning to second guess herself. What if... what if she did stay? What if she did choose to fight instead of choosing the easy option of giving up? What if, instead of succumbing to the instincts of compliance that Jareth had forced upon her, she instead chose to embrace the person she had once been? The person who, apparently, Jordan saw better than she, herself, did.

What if, what if, what if... It all swirled around her head in a whirlwind of sickening confusion.

She had always thought her intentions for staying with Jareth, for willingly submitting to him, was to keep her baby brother safe. But after her little shouting match with Jordan, she wasn't so sure. Was she really only choosing to submit to Jareth as some kind of self punishment? Because she felt like she deserved to be punished? That was what she had said. She had never said it before, nor thought it, but there was something about being around Jordan that made her want to be disgustingly honest. Not just with him, but also herself.

__Maybe you do think you deserve everything he's done to you. But perhaps Jordan's right. You may believe you deserve it, but then, you might actually not.__

Sarah was so entangled in her own mind that she almost walked right into the messenger who had stopped in front of the Throne Room's impressive main entrance doors. It was only Jordan's hand in hers sharply pulling her back that shook her out of her mind-state.

The messenger was just about to knock, when one of the large double doors suddenly opened, and Oberon stepped out, closing the door firmly behind him.

When he spoke, his voice was rushed and breathless.

"Sarah." He said, his gaze burning into hers with an impressive intensity. Her focus was fully on him within milliseconds. "I promised you that I would not stop looking for a solution to your problem and I have not. I do not wish to alarm you, but there is someone behind this door whom would very much like to see you."

And before Sarah could open her mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about, did he turn to face the doors that were both now opening to accommodate the king. She shared one last confused look with Jordan, who mirrored her expression but squeezed her hand comfortingly, before they both stepped into the room following the king.

When Sarah saw who was in the room waiting for her, she lost her balance, dropped to her knees and swayed. One single solitary word passing through her lips before the world went black.

"__Toby__."

* * *

**Okay, so end of Part Three. __Finally__! I really wanted to get a lot of the talking out of the way because future chapters are going to have a lot more action, so I hope this wasn't to long or to boring. In any case, R&amp;R! Tell me what you think! Always interested! See you next week.**


	11. Part Four - Chapter One

****Part Four****

****Chapter One****

This place was a foul, desolate wasteland. The tunnel was pitch black and sweltering hot. It was the third place they had located that looked as though it might lead to a Wyvern cave. They had been wrong the last two instances, and the men's morality was low, but still, they marched on, determined not to fail their king.

The clank of armour and the marching footsteps of the twenty one men moving briskly through the cave was all that could be heard in the dark cavern.

While there was no doubt in any of the soldiers minds that this place was the dwelling of a dragon, whether or not it populated a Wyvern was the question on every man's mind. They had seen other dragons here, even had a close encounter with one a while ago, where it had taken the group of men weeks to recover from the attack. But now it was time to start hunting again. They had been at it for months now, though none knew exactly how long, and still they had not spotted so much as one Wyvern dragon.

An ominous noise stopped the men's steady pacing dead in its tracks as the sound travelled through the dark tunnel. It was a menacing low rumbling growl that shivered up the spines of most of the young soldiers, and even a few of the experienced ones. Peter Farwell, the member of court who was leading the expedition on behalf of King Oberon, halted the men with a single hand gesture. They all stopped, remaining as still and quiet as possible. Farwell held up the small lantern in the air and proceeded to creep alone towards the noise. He heard the clank that told him some of his men were attempting to follow, but he waved them back down to still them. Someone needed to act as a scout and it might as well be him. He took a deep breath behind the magically cooling armour and proceeded forwards alone. In truth, the man was terrified, but he was completely loyal to his king, and as such, was determined not to fail. Oberon needed that venom, and he was adamant that none of them would be returning home until they had what the king needed.

The member of court proceeded down the dark tunnel alone, hitting some twists and turns in his path but not slowing down. He moved cautiously, careful not to make to much noise and surrender their position. As he progressed, the cavern got increasingly hotter, so hot he could feel it pressing against the magic of the cooling armour. Without the spell a man would be burnt alive within minutes, and thus he was grateful to the king's advisor, Roderick, for providing it. The old man had offered to come with them when the hunting party had boarded ships to head out to the old abandoned kingdom of Tenebris, but Farwell had insisted he stay with the king. That he could handle this mission on his own.

It had been months since he had sent a raven with a message to their king about the progress they were making. After they passed the boundary marking the kingdom of Tenebris, he had decided that he would not send another update until he had some good news for the king. Now so much time had passed it seemed pointless to send a message that basically stated that they had achieved nothing and Farwell was getting desperate. He wanted this mission to be a success. He wanted to do the king proud. The air started to grow heavier and more repressive as the man steadily crept through the winding cavern. He took several deep calming breaths as the tunnel started to widen out, the small candle burning in the protected glass lantern spattered and threw shadows around the small black clearing. There was nothing here, just dust and ash and blackened stone. The fact that he might have been standing in what was once a castle hallway was not lost on the man, but there really was no way to tell. Time and dark magic had diminished the once great kingdom and now it was nothing but dead trees, dried up rivers and the carcasses of dead eaten animals.

Farwell heard a crunch underneath his armoured feet and froze, easing slowly back to make as little noise as possible. He brought the lantern down to the ground as far as he could go in the restricting metal suit. He gulped down some of his fear as he saw he had trodden on what looked to be blackened human teeth. Everything else surrounding it was ash, evidence of what were probably once the bones of a fully grown man or woman.

__I must be getting close. __

The noise that resounded around the small space, louder this time, only confirmed the thought.

The man proceeded to press his body towards the wall and creep along its edge. All the walls widened and the man began to see more remains, both of animal and Fae. His breathing became increasingly unsteady. The cavern widened out the more Farwell walked and soon the man noticed the darkness begin to lighten. As quietly as he could he bent, dropped the lantern to the ground, and continued to creep forward. The area around him began to constrict his breathing to short sharp gasps the air was so hot.

__Just keep moving. __He thought over and over.

Eventually the cave had widened to the point where every member of their hunting party could have fit shoulder to shoulder, but Farwell kept himself pressed to the wall, sure he was getting close as the ominous noises got louder.

Then he came to an opening. Light was streaming from it, uncomfortably bright with a strange orange glow.

Feeling it was finally time to take some form of action, Farwell slowly drew his sword from the holster on his back, holding it on his shoulder as he moved to peer around the corner and into the room the light was streaming from.

What he saw nearly froze his racing heart.

The room itself was wide and vast, and from the barely distinguishable colours of the room's broken floor and shattered ceilings, it looked as though this was once king Aurum's old ballroom. The once lavish and beautiful piece of architecture was now overgrown with strange plant life and random piles of fire. Trees seemed to be growing out of the floor and twisting themselves up through the shattered glass roof and into the night sky.

But it was the contents of the room that really stilled the court member in terror. There were at least a half dozen of them. Not overtly large beasts, but ghastly in their cruel structuring. Their thin lean frames seemed to slither like monstrous snakes as they crawled across the room. There heads and large shredded wings close to the ground as their two bent, clawed legs scraped across the once elegant marble flooring.

The air radiated with heat, so much so that Farwell could actually see the air shimmering with it through light squinted eyes and once again thanked the protection of the armour.

His eyes were glued to the room as, almost directly adjacent to the opening Farwell was hiding in; he saw three Wyvern dragons fighting over the carcass of what appeared to be, from his distance, a dead shark. Farwell watched, horribly entranced as the three scaled veiny blue beasts all clawed at the dead animal, using their hind legs to each snatch at a part of the shark while using their wings as leverage to beat each other back. As he watched, all three dragons flew into the air with the animal, biting and snapping at the other as though communicating in a language of snarls and growls. Soon one of the dragons finally managed to capture a large chunk of the dead carcass and fly higher into the air with it. When the other two attempted to retrieve it, the beast let out a burst of white hot fire which the other two dove to avoid. Victorious, the winning dragon landed on the ground where it then proceeded to viciously devour the shark's body with its two layers of sharp teeth and long blood red split tipped tongue.

Farwell quickly withdrew before he could be seen.

This was it! This was a Wyvern nest, no question about it. They looked just as the books had described. Smaller than regular dragons, but not to be underestimated. Their power as predators was infamous and the nest was larger than Farwell had suspected or anticipated. He had only expected to find one or two Wyvern on this island overall. Six would be a lot harder to tackle. Not least because the beast needed to be alive when they extracted the venom, and that meant fighting at least five of the animals to the death. Quickly, Farwell replaced his sword, picked his lantern back from the ground and opened the metal clasp keeping the flame encased. Muttering a few quiet words behind his heavy armour, the little flame suddenly burst to life and glowed bright before zooming out of the lantern and back down the dark caverns tunnels he himself had just arrived from. Moments later he heard the quiet clanking of synchronized armour moving swiftly out of the tunnels mouth. He motioned with his hand that they approach in silence, and drew them all to the entrance of the tunnel, where the dragons still resided.

They would wait until the creatures let their guards down in sleep, and then, then, they would attack.

Gods protect them. And their king.

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

As it turned out, it did in fact snow in the Underground. Sarah watched in silence as the light fresh little flakes of ice fell silently from the pure white sky towards the grounds frosted grass tips.

She hadn't slept, nor did she have any desire to do so, for she feared that should she close her eyes and rest her head she would awaken back in her own personal nightmare, instead of, what she now saw, was a perfect perfect dream.

As quietly as she could, so as not to wake the sleeping occupants of the room whose balcony she had just stepped onto, she silently closed the doors behind her to block out the imposing cold. She was cold as her long cotton nightgown flowed and played lightly over her bare feet, but she completely dismissed it in favour of the view. The snow was beautiful in its purity, landing and immediately dissipating onto the cool grass below her as though expressing the desire to merge with the very earth itself.

And Sarah had once thought she had known contentment.

She shifted her body slightly, so as to better look at the three sleeping figures in the room through the glass window of the balcony door. Her smile brimmed with love as she saw the visage of her baby brother tangled in a heap of blankets on the floor. His body clumsily angled. His light sandy blond hair flopping over his youthful features in a wild disarray.

Her eyes had never once known a sweeter sight.

They had shared the mattress on the floor together, giving her parents the four poster bed directly beside it. Both were sleeping as soundly as their son, their bodies rising and falling in sync as they dreamed.

Oberon had offered to get them separate rooms, but they had all objected the idea insistently. After a year without them, Sarah never wanted to be separated from them again. And after hearing her story, her parents and brother felt exactly the same way.

After she had entered the Throne Room, and seen her parents and baby brother standing before the throne, their faces almost comically fixed in identical expressions of confusion, she had almost completely lost consciousness. She had dropped to her knees and swayed as though extremely weak. Her parents and brother had rushed to her, confused over where they were and what was happening but also concerned for their daughter. It was the feel of Toby's small body latching around her waist that brought her crashing back to the real world, and in one swift movement, she had pulled them all down into a crushing embrace.

The next few hours were some of the worst and yet some of the best of Sarah's young life. Oberon had conjured two long shezlong chairs for them to sit on and promptly ordered the room cleared, leaving the door firmly closed behind them. Her parents immediately bombarded her with questions. Where they were and what was happening and who were all these strange, extravagantly dressed people.

It was at that point Sarah had broken down completely and revealed to them everything that had happened to her in the past year. Though deeply confused by the strange surroundings and Sarah's description of the time difference explaining how she had in fact been missing for over a year, her parents had believed every word. Karen had shed more tears then Sarah had as she recounted her tale. Her father had sat still in appalled silence while her brother simply clung to her, to young to understand why she wept, but also old enough to know his big sister was in pain.

She had told them everything. Everything from the night she had wished Toby away, to the moment she had seen them again.

She was actually rather surprised at how well they had taken everything. Particularly her father. Being a strict intellectual man who had never quite seen eye to eye with his daughter's vivid belief in magic, he nevertheless could not simply dismiss what he was seeing right before his very eyes.

They had spent the whole night crying and talking. She had rocked Toby in her arms long after he had been taken to slumber, and it was only after the sun began peeking over the horizon outside the Throne Room's windows that Oberon had returned and suggested that he provide them rooms.

Sarah had chosen to sleep on a set up mattress with Toby while her parents, after much persuading, took the large bed. Exhausted beyond belief, her parents had been asleep before their heads had even hit the pillows. But, though completely spent herself, Sarah couldn't bring herself to rest for even a moment, terrified that if she took her eyes from any of them, they would disappear in a wisp of smoke.

She had been lying on her back looking at the blue curtains lightly blowing in the morning air when she noticed the fine streaks of white through the windows, and now here she stood.

Never had snow looked so beautiful. So fresh and crisp and pure and __real__. A memory of her last Christmas's snow fall brought an even bigger smile to Sarah's lips as she recalled when she and Toby had built a snow man, made angels, and started a snow-fight with her parents who had been innocently sitting on the porch drinking hot chocolate at the time.

__I cant believe your here__, she thought over and over as she looked at them. __Your really really here. __

She had truly believed that she would never ever see them again. That all she had left of them were faded memories that seemed to grate on her mind like shattered broken glass. She had never been able to look back on those happy memories without feeling an agonising boulder of pain slide down her chest, but now...

She realised that she needed to find Oberon and give him the biggest, most sincere thank you she had ever given anyone. For he had given her back something she had never once thought she would find again; hope.

After she was taken, hope had been the very first thing that Jareth had snatched from her. When no person and no magic words had saved her from that first dark, torturous night, she had given up hope of anyone ever saving her again.

But someone had saved her. Oberon... and Jordan.

She then realised she needed to find him too, for she also owed him thanks, and an apology. She knew she had been completely ungrateful about him saving her from the Goblin Kingdom, and now she knew that if he hadn't, she probably never would have met Oberon, who apparently was the only other Fae in the Underground who had the ability to travel through dimensions and retrieve people from another world.

It was thanks to him. It was all thanks to him that she had once again gotten to be held by her family and retrieve the once completely lost feeling of safety.

__I am safe. I. Am. Safe.__

She almost jumped a mile when she heard light knocking on the door, and quickly rushed through the room to interrupt the knocking before it woke her sleeping family. She pulled the door open and was met with the very person she had been thinking about moments before.

Jordan stood there, hands in his pockets, looking rueful and nervous as though he knew what a personal moment he had been intruding in on.

Strangely, her first instinct was to throw her arms around him and thank him as insistently as she had sworn to do so mere minutes ago, but she refrained. Instead, she calmly stepped out of the room and closed the door lightly behind her, leaving it open a crack just in case.

Paying no attention to her own state of undress, she wrapped her arms around her chest and quietly asked, "What is it Jordan?"

For his part, Jordan was momentarily stunned. Looking past the beauty of her visage, her long raven hair billowing freely down her shoulders right to the small of her back, and the long, white nightgown that was amazingly flattering even though it had absolutely no shape at all, he noted vividly that this was the first time she had used his name.

And she hadn't even been screaming at him in anger or resentment, it had been spoken in a gentle sleepy, calming whisper.

In that moment she appeared to him as an angel. An angel who was probably growing irritated by his silent gaping. He shook himself of his momentary stupor and taking a step back, addressed the girl formally.

"Oberon would like to see you."

Sarah bit her bottom lip. She knew that she needed to thank Oberon, and she wanted to. She owed him from the bottom of her heart for all he had given to her. But the thought of leaving them now...

She turned and pressed her palm to the door, pushing it open slowly to look longingly in at the three people who hadn't moved an inch.

"Don't worry." She heard Jordan say, his voice softened into what Sarah could only describe as affection. "They'll still be here when you get back."

Sarah turned to see him smiling at her warmly, and she could only smile back, somehow trusting his words to be the absolute truth.

__They are safe. We all are. __

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

The walk to Oberon office was quiet. She didn't exchange any more words with Jordan as he led her through a sea of stairs and hallways, finally arriving outside an old mahogany door that was not the same as the office Sarah had found Oberon in days before. It was then that Sarah remembered Oberon mentioning that that room had been his father's office, and perhaps he had a separate one of his own. Not caring much on the subject either way, she watched Jordan make a fist and rap smartly on the door three times.

"Enter." Came the call from within. Jordan opened the door for Sarah, and held it open for her to enter first. __Perhaps chivalry isn't dead after all__, she thought through a hazy sleep-deprived mind and had to suppress the urge to giggle when Oberon, seated behind his desk, invited them both to sit, and Jordan very casually pulled out a chair for her.

__So cute__, she thought before she could stop herself.

Jordan had only half turned to leave them alone when Oberon stopped him.

"No, Jordan. I would like you to stay also. What I have to say concerns the both of you."

Sarah repressed the heavy urge to groan. She was in no mind set to deal with heavy conversation. And yet she knew Oberon deserved her full attention, especially now. Fighting the exhaustion as though it were a physical foe, Sarah sat straighter in her chair and looked at the king expectantly.

"First of all, I would like to thank you both for your patience. I know this whole affair has been rather trying, and I haven't exactly been all together forthcoming about my plans for the future. This is why I requested to see you both."

Sarah was the fastest to respond. "Thank us? I should be thanking you. What you did..."

There were no words, fortunately Oberon held up his hand before this fact could be exposed.

"Not at all child. I gave you my vow that you would be safe here, and that extends to your blood-kin as well. For as long as you remain here, all of you will be safe."

Sarah's already tired eyes brimmed with tears of gratitude as she silently nodded her head in understanding. Jordan leaned over to squeeze her right hand reassuringly, but Sarah did not even appear to notice.

Jordan addressed the king. "Whatever you need us to do, whatever we can do to help, we will try to support you to the best of our ability." He announced. Sarah only nodded her head in agreement, subconsciously squeezing Jordan's hand right back. The action caused a small smile to momentarily lighten on his lips.

Oberon nodded thoughtfully and pushed an open envelope on his desk closer to the pair sitting opposite him. Jordan leaned forward to retrieve it as the king spoke.

"This was sent to me from the expedition I sent to retrieve the Wyvern venom. You remember, we spoke of this?" He questioned Sarah, who only nodded, fascination and interest lighting her eyes as she sat straighter in her seat.

"Well, they have finally answered back." The king said, gesturing to the letter Jordan was now reading.

"We finally have almost all the ingredients for the spell to eradicate the UnSeelie once and for all." He declared triumphantly.

"They were successful." Jordan said, raising his gaze from the thin slip of paper, his face intense. Oberon smiled.

"Yes. They were. They retrieved the venom, and are on their way home even as we speak."

Sarah stared between the king and Jordan, a tad perplexed. So, the court member Oberon mentioned he had sent to retrieve the dragon venom had been successful. But wasn't there other things on the list as well? Weren't there other things that needed to be done? On top of that, how could Oberon even be so sure the spell would even work, if he had never been able to try it? And didn't he also say that the spell needed to be preformed on the UnSeelie High King? And wasn't his identity still a mystery?

Perhaps it was some of her earlier pessimism kicking back in, but she obviously did not see victory as clearly as the two gentlemen before her.

She was just about to open her mouth to voice some or all of these concerns, when the king spoke again.

"I am going to put an end to the Unseelie. It is my wish that by the time this world has circled another sun, every single one of those evil bastards will be dead and buried."

There was a long, abrupt, rather charged silence following this remark, as Sarah's mouth slowly closed again. She stared at the king, and the confidence and power radiating from the man was almost intimidating, but she believed the absolute conviction he put in his words, and the intentions behind them.

The silence dragged, and then Sarah, looking at the king with a completely serious expression asked quietly,

"Does that include Jareth?"

"Yes." Was the Seelie High King's firm reply.

"Then I'm in."


	12. Part Four - Chapter Two

**Part Four **

**Chapter Two**

"_Say it." Jareth repeated tenderly. Sarah felt the last scrap of her will melt away._

"_I belong to you." She whimpered, averting her eyes to the ground in shame. _

"_Say it again." _

_She complied, tears streaming down her face._

"_Again." He commanded. He sounded proud. _

"_I belong to you." _

_Sarah couldn't believe what she had done. She felt an ice cold shiver run up her spine and slither through her whole body, but dismissed it as the feeling of hopelessness and defeat. It was over. He had broken her. He had won._

Sarah opened her eyes suddenly and immediately closed them to block out the somewhat harsh glare of the sun burning into her head from where she lay.

_What the hell is going on?_

For the past three days in a row all she kept dreaming about was that exact moment. And sure, she had dreamt of her nights in those chains before. And, yes, she had dreamt of the moment she had surrendered to Jareth more than a few times since it happened, but never this often. Never this frequently.

In a brief moment of panic, Sarah bolted up right, opened her eyes again and leaned up to take in her surroundings. But sure enough, she was still here, lying on a little wooden bench not far from where her brother and some other children still played in the gardens. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as she saw him halt in chasing one of the little fae boys around and wave in her direction. She waved back, and sat straight on the bench from where she must have drifted off.

She supposed she couldn't really blame herself, for the past few days Toby had been keeping her pretty busy, and every night her dreams had been just the same as the one she had just experienced.

Good things come with bad things. She knew this. She had always known. So maybe her brain was forcing these dreams to the front of her mind as a way of levelling out the complete happy state of bliss she was in with her family here.

_Or maybe, perhaps, your brain is trying to tell you its time to stop blaming yourself for what happened._

She let out a low groan. She was still to sleepy for theoretical debates.

As indicated, excluding her strange dreams, these last few days had been heaven for Sarah.

Having her family with her, finally being able to be with them, had chased the once crushing hollow loneliness into whatever dark hole it belonged and replaced it with a light, joyful serenity that Sarah could practically bathe in.

Her parents were adjusting nicely to the change in reality. Or at least, Sarah assumed they were, she hadn't caught either of them doing anything to suggest otherwise. Oberon had made a brief mention about how much harder it generally was for adults to adjust to being forced into a new world then it was for children, but so far, her parents were doing just fine. Toby, of course, was reacting the way any young, inquisitive four year old boy would react when finding themselves in an alternate reality filled with magic.

He loved it.

It had been at least a week since they had arrived and still the novelty of being in, what boiled down to, an enchanted castle, hadn't worn off. He was like a rubber ball. Practically bouncing off the walls at every small little thing: and Sarah _loved_ it. Her parents had tried to stay with them both for the first few days, but after realising that Toby wasn't going to come down from his hype any time soon, had surrendered and assigned Sarah responsibility of looking after the tyke when he was zooming around the palace like a crazy little rocket.

Sarah embraced the old responsibility with more enthusiasm than she had ever given anything.

Despite knowing how some fae felt about humans, all the castle staff they had come across seemed to adore Toby. It hadn't taken him long to befriend the few children that occupied the estate, and far from shunning or mocking him for being a magic-less human, they saw in him a willing audience to their growing powers, and he had even been permitted to sit in on some of the children's magic lessons.

Sarah was happy he was having fun here, and thrilled that he was being accepted. Of course, she didn't know how the staff really felt about them behind closed doors, but she had never sensed any kind of hostility or resentment from any of them. Toby was curious and lively, and had asked questions about practically everything in Oberon's kingdom. She believed that a lot of the people in Oberon's kingdom probably thought him cute, and Sarah couldn't have been more grateful to all of them for making him feel welcomed. He had been through enough. He deserved this joy.

"Sarah, are you feeling alright?"

Sarah looked over and was shocked to see Oberon's wife, Titania, standing beside the bench with a few handmaidens standing discreetly behind her. From her expression Sarah could tell it wasn't he first time she had tried to get her attention and blushed a deep tomato red. She nodded and than cleared her throat to say, "I'm fine, thank you Your Majesty."

Titania smiled at the human girl and indicated the space on the bench beside her.

"Would you mind terribly if I joined you?"

Sarah's eyes, already widened in shock, expanded even more.

"Of course not Your Majesty." She replied a little breathlessly, squeezing herself as tightly as she could into the opposite end of the bench so the queen could sit.

"Now none of that," she said dismissively, waving her hand through the air in dismissal as she lowered herself in the space provided. "Call me Titania. I was never really one for formalities." She said grandly.

Sarah merely nodded her head as though in consent, but was not in the least bit comfortable with the prospect of addressing royalty by their given names. She had endured many lessons at Jareth's hand to enforce how inappropriate such a thing was.

"Would you like some hot tea, it _is_ rather chilly out here?" The blonde haired queen inquired, indicating towards one of her handmaidens carrying a tray with several small pots and two china cups. Sarah could only continue to stare in dumb shock before forcing words out of her mouth.

"That would be lovely Your... ah... Titania." Sarah stuttered, closing her eyes against how much of an idiot she sounded. Titania only smiled and waved the maid forward. The young looking girl in a small maids uniform stepped forward, and than immediately jumped back when a snowball came whizzing past, narrowly avoiding both the girl and the queen herself. All the women's gazes turned to the playing children where Toby stood with an adorable guilty expression on his face.

"Sorry Sarah!" He called out from the other side of the garden, before immediately running off to catch up with the other children he was chasing.

Sarah couldn't help the little giggle that passed through her lips and turned to the queen to apologise. She was surprised to find the queen smiling an almost identical smile.

"I adore children." She said by way of responding to Sarah's surprised expression.

Sarah could only nod in agreement, feeling the one sided tension relax slightly at this one thing herself and the queen seemed to have in common.

The small maid, feeling it was safe again, moved forward and handed out the tray to the queen. Titania made quick work of adding milk and sugar to the tea as requested before handing a cup to Sarah. Sarah took it with a thank you, and the two women sat in silence for several long moments.

Finally, after taking several sips of comforting hot tea, Sarah turned and asked, "Do you have any of your own?"

The queen turned towards her at that, slight surprise on her face, and Sarah inwardly cringed and berated herself for asking a complete stranger such a personal question. Hadn't she learnt by now to hold her tongue when it came to questions?

_Stupid stupid!_

Titania took in the girl's horrified expression and felt sympathy for her. It was clear that her husband's warning about the kind of treatment the girl had been subjected to was entirely the truth. She decided to move the conversation along before the girl grew too uncomfortable.

"No." The queen replied a little sadly. Sarah looked up from where her eyes had burned a hole into the ground, and was about to apologise when the queen went on.

"It is very difficult for a fae to conceive. We are old and experience changes in our bodies perhaps once every few decades. These children," she said, waving her hand in the general direction of the two boys and little girl playing with Toby, "were a blessing bestowed upon two servants of this house. Sisters. I would guess that it was something in their genes that made it possible for them to conceive. One of them even had twins as you can see. I was almost envious of them at first, but I suppose what is meant to be is what is. Oberon and I have been trying since the beginning of our marriage, and we have been wed for almost five thousand years. It is easier for a fae to conceive with humans, but even then, such a thing is rare."

Sarah dropped her head to the snow covered ground and chewed over this little piece of information. It wasn't as though she had never thought about it. But she had always seemed to force it to the back of her mind until she had seemingly completely forgotten. Jareth took her often, and in the beginning of her imprisonment she had been terrified that she would become pregnant with his child. It wasn't as though he ever used any kind of protection, and Sarah wasn't a fool not to know what could happen. But after the first few months, and it seemed like such a thing was not going to come about, she had stowed it away to the back of her mind. She thanked the fates they had at least spared her _that_ torment.

The silence stretched on again, both women looking out at the laughing children playing in the snow. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was still pretty high in the sky. It would be getting colder soon, and then it would be time to retreat indoors for dinner. Sarah, her family now with her, had started to feel comfortable enough to eat in the main dining hall. They had their own table, just her parents, her brother and her, and Sarah couldn't hide the fact that she had missed the intimacy that came with being in a room with a large group of people. She was tired of the quiet. She was tired of being alone.

More then once she had caught Jordan looking at her from across the large hall, and had almost laughed at the way he pretended to be completely engaged with the conversation at his table when she had caught him staring.

_Haven't really talked to him lately. I wonder what he's doing now. Maybe I should pay him a visit._

Sarah shook her head free from _that_ foolishness before it could spread.

"He's very fond of you you know." Sarah heard Titania say. Sarah's vision spun from how quickly she raised her head to meet the queen's gaze. Could she have known what she was thinking?

"Oberon." Titania elaborated. Sarah's shoulders practically sagged in relief, but then turned rigid again as she took in the queen's words.

"I've never seen him act around humans before. As I'm sure you are aware, your race is not generally thought of very highly in this world, but what Oberon has done for you is truly remarkable. It took a great amount of energy and magic to bring your family here, especially since your parents have never been here before. I do not believe he would have gone through so much trouble for just anyone."

Sarah turned confused eyes at the queen at this reveal. She hadn't really thought about the difficulty level of bringing humans into this world. When Jareth had brought Toby before her, he had said the only reason he was able to do so was because he had been to the Underground before. She didn't stop to think that maybe, perhaps, if she hadn't wished him away, Jareth never would have been able to bring him to his kingdom to begin with. Or maybe it just would have been a little more difficult for him. It was kind of a redundant thought now, but still, if the queen's words were true, it was just one more thank you she owed the king.

Sarah spoke to his queen. "Because of me and Jordan. Because of this... bonded thing. You know about that... right?" Sarah asked, suddenly remembering it was suppose to be a secret.

The queen smiled. "Yes child, I know. Oberon told me everything the night he brought you both here. And while, yes, he is excited at the prospect of it, I do believe it is more than simply his fascination with the phenomenon you and young Jordan seem to share. I believe he is truly intrigued with you child. He is a generous man, but as I said, I do not believe that just anyone would have received the same level of treatment you and your family have."

Titania looked at the girl intently, wanting her to understand, but she needn't have worried. If Sarah hadn't learned by now never to take anything for granted, then she would have been a completely miserable excuse for a person.

"And what would we be discussing ladies?" Oberon's voice floated to them through the brisk winter air. The maids all curtsied to the approaching king, and just when Sarah's panicked brain began to insist that she do the same, did Titania gracefully stand and dip her head to the king. She let out a small amused laugh. "You, in fact."

Oberon raised his eyebrows in what Sarah could only describe as a playful manner. She averted her eyes and hid her blush. She had only ever seen her parents act so affectionately towards each other as a couple, and almost burst out laughing when she remembered instances of Toby complaining about them kissing at the kitchen table. Either way, it seemed to be a very personal moment they were sharing and she was almost embarrassed to be caught in the middle of it.

"Oh? I do hope you were speaking kindly of me." The king questioned, never moving his eyes from the face of his beloved. They may have been together for centuries, and their relationship may have hit several unfortunate curveballs, but the spark between them had never truly dimmed.

Titania's laugh was like belles on the air. "Of course my king. Anything else would be lies." She told him sweetly.

_Old people flirting. Old people flirting!_

Oberon took her hand and placed a soft kiss on its back before speaking in a more serious tone. "My queen. Would you mind if I have a moment alone with Miss Williams here?"

Sarah looked up at that. _He wants to talk to me?_ He hadn't spoken to her one on one since that morning in his office. And she hadn't seen much of him since he had spoken to her and Jordan together. She wondered what he wanted, and wondered if perhaps, just this once, she might be able to have a full conversation with him without making a complete ass out of herself.

Titania cast a look back at the blushing Sarah before redirecting her attentions to the king. She gave him another little head bow before calling her maids towards her. Placing her tea cup back on the tray the maid held, she indicated the maid take Sarah's cup while saying, "Of course. I will see you at dinner. Come ladies." She addressed her small entourage before walking away. The maids curtseyed and followed after their mistress.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Sarah asked as soon as the queen was out of sight. She assumed this was going to be another one of _those_ conversations, considering he wanted to have it in private. Titania knew, but speaking in front of her maids was apparently a different matter.

"Yes." The king said simply, and sat on the previously occupied seat. "I know you are, perhaps tired of this line of inquiry, but I wanted to talk to you about the bond."

_Oh, not again_, Sarah internally groaned. She would have expressed her annoyance out loud, if it were not for the fact that she had a lot of respect for the man seated beside her. What he had done for her and her family had surpassed anything she could ever have dreamed of. She had always just assumed that the only way she would ever be free from Jareth was if he died. And, honesty, she had never really seen that as a high possibility. Him being immortal and powerful and all, she had always assumed that she would die before he did, and that would be the end of it. Now this king had given her back her freedom, she knew he was nothing like Jareth at all. If he thought this _bond_ thing was worth discussing, she supposed the least she could do was _act_ interested.

Oberon had his assumptions about what was going on inside the girl's head to make her so quiet all of a sudden, but kept them to himself. He had been thinking a lot about this for days, and really wanted to know if he was right.

"I have been noticing you and Jordan interacting with each other, and was just wondering if you feel any differently towards him now as you did the first time we discussed the bond in the Memorial Room." He questioned.

Sarah's brow twitched inquisitively. _Had_ she been feeling any different?

"I'm not sure." She answered both the king and herself. "I guess I don't hate him, or dislike him as much as I did when I thought he was putting my family in danger, but I still don't feel the way you say I should. I still don't feel connected to him or anything." She explained.

Oberon nodded his head thoughtfully.

"Then that confirms a theory I have been working on." He said quietly, almost as though he was talking to himself. Sarah angled her body towards him, her confused expression willing him to explain.

"Child, it is very clear to me, that from the few times I have seen you and Jordan together, and from what Jordan has told me in private conversations, that he is most certainly feeling the bond the way it should be felt. The fact that you are not would lead me to conclude that the only explanation to this, is that the Goblin King did something to you to make the bond obsolete."

Sarah moved passed her embarrassment at the thought of the king and Jordan talking about her behind closed doors to the shock of Oberon's theory.

"Do you think he knew?" She asked in a high pitched squeal that almost made her cringe. The king went on unfazed.

"It seems unlikely. Even if he knew of Heroes Cordis, there is little chance he would have known you shared a bond with Jordan. Not unless he saw the two of you join hands."

Sarah shook her head. "He never did." She declared with surety.

"Then, judging by what you have both told me, it leads me to believe that Jareth may have tried to force a connection between the two of you. A connection that is now interfering with the... signal... of the bond you and Jordan share."

Sarah sat in silence at the king's words. Force a connection? What did _that_ mean? Though the more Sarah thought about those words, the more it seemed like a very _Jareth_ thing to do. To try and manufacture a connection that mimicked the one she and Jordan seemingly shared. He had always wanted her to feel affection for him; perhaps this was just another attempt at getting what he wanted.

She heard the king begin to speak again, and forced herself to take notice.

"Did the Goblin King ever give you anything specific to ingest, or ever preform some kind of spell or ritual on you?" Oberon asked.

Sarah racked her brain carefully before responding. "I suppose it's possible. I'm sorry Your Majesty, but for the most part, I pretty much tried my best to block it all out." Sarah explained apologetically. Oberon dismissed her tone with an elegant flick of a wrist. "Don't be sorry. I am sure I am right. But without knowing what he did, if anything, there is little chance I can attempt to undo it. Are you sure you don't remember him doing anything specific, giving you anything to eat or drink or wear?"

Sarah opened her mouth to respond that she simply did not know, before snapping it tightly shut. _No_. No it couldn't be.

Sarah's gaze immediately locked on her covered ankle and stared at the dress flowing over it. Oberon noticed the girl staring intently at her feet and asked, "What is it?"

Sarah looked up at the king, her mouth gaping open like a fish. Cautious she moved her gaze over to where she could still see the children playing. Toby was further enough away that he wouldn't see what she was about to show the king. Carefully, Sarah leaned down and pulled the skirt of her dress up just high enough to reveal the silver metal cuff on her right leg. The king's eyes widened at the sight of it and Sarah quickly explained before she risked her brother seeing the wretched thing.

"He put it on me the night he abducted me. I always thought that it was just something to enforce his ownership of me or whatever. But maybe... not?" Sarah said concerned.

She was taken slightly aback when the king casually crouched down to the ground and lightly touched the cuff. Sarah had to resist the urge to lower her skirt or jump away as the king placed three of his fingertips to the thing and held them there, a look of concentration on his face. After a few moments disappointment washed over his features as he moved up to once again sit on the bench. Sarah lowered the skirt back so it flowed around her toes, grateful she had decided not to wear tights today.

"I don't sense anything overtly magic about it." The king declared both disappointedly and dismissively. "Nevertheless I can not remove it. It was made with some of Jareth's blood, and therefore only his magic can control it."

Sarah lowered her eyes and let out a huff of air. _There goes that theory._ The anklet was the only thing she could think of that Jareth had done to her early on that would have _forced a bond _between them. Now she was back to having no clue. She could have eaten anything, drunk anything, done anything, and she probably wouldn't have known what it was she was doing. What she had said to the king had been the truth; she had pretty much tried to block everything that happened to her in that god forsaken place from her mind. Even before Jareth had hurt Toby, since before she was in the chains of that dungeon she had tried to... she had tried...

_Oh! My! Goddess!_

As if a firework had gone off in her brain something was finally clicking for Sarah. For the past few weeks she had been thinking and dreaming about her time in those chains more than she had dreamt of anything in Jareth's castle. Right off the bat of her not having dreamt at all in months. Literally, after Jareth had returned Toby home, she had had a few nights of nightmares and then it was like... nothing. If she did her maths correctly, she had only started dreaming of _that time_ after Jordan had arrived at the castle with his father and the other dignitaries.

Just like the dream she had had less than an hour ago. The dream that recalled when she had finally submitted to Jareth. When she had said those awful awful words.

Those words...

Sarah almost fell from the little bench she moved so quickly. She practically jumped into the air in her moment of excitement and clarity. To give him credit, the king hid his surprise well.

"What about words?! Do words count?" She asked with a note of hysteria. Oberon did not even have time to fully form a questioning look before Sarah went on, practically tripping over the words spilling from her mouth.

"If he got me to say something specific, got me to repeat it three times... I cant believe I never thought about it. There had to be a reason he got me to repeat it three times. Three is an influential magic number right? That's it, it has to be! That's why he wouldn't let me out of those chains until I said it! Because he wanted me bound to him!"

"What are you talking about?" The king inquired curiously, surprised by the girl's sudden burst of energy. Sarah looked at the king with a slightly crazed gleam in her eyes.

"During my first few weeks in the Goblin Kingdom, Jareth tortured me until I told him I belonged to him. He got me to say 'I belong to you' three times before he finally released me. Back then, I thought it was just a power play, a way to break me, but now... That has to be what's messing with the bonds signal! 'I belong to you,' what else could that be but a way of forcing me to bind myself to him?"

The king had watched the girl practically bounce about as she explained her theory, but her words gave the man pause. Quietly, he thought of a way to confirm or reject her claim, and finally considered that there may be only one way.

"I'm not sure." The king finally replied, but before Sarah's shoulders had time to sag in disappointment, the king continued. "But there may be a way to find out."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Hours later, Sarah was sitting in a long stretched out chair that resembled a dentist's lounge chair. She was lying back watching the queen exchange words with her parents while Jordan was simply off to the side watching her. She had a sense of growing fear and almost dread about what was about to happen, but she told herself it was ridiculous. She had been tortured and abused in ways even she could never put into words, something like this shouldn't be making her feel so nauseous.

Surprisingly, her stomach wasn't buying it.

At that moment the king came back into the room with his adviser and a man Sarah assumed was the potion brewer Oberon had told her about. He had said what needed to be done he couldn't do himself, that it required more practised hands in the art of alchemy, and so had led them to the brewer's working chambers.

The room was dark and windowless. Lit with only a few candles that seemed to burn with a strange orange glow. There were many books scattered around the room as well as a desk and several chairs, but everyone around her was standing except for her. The only other people in the room were Titania, Jordan and her parents. Toby was currently being watched over by the children's nanny, once Oberon had insisted her parents be here to support her. He had also insisted that Jordan join them as well, explaining that this process concerned him too, though the only person who would need to undergo the treatment was her. Sarah's stomach did another unpleasant backflip as she watched the potion brewer come closer and lay out a set of tools on a small table beside her. While some of it were ordinary things like medical instruments, an empty bottle and vials with strange liquids, Sarah's gaze stamped on the enormous syringe the brewer unwrapped and placed on the table before her.

She might have whimpered in fear, she didn't recall, but she tried her best to listen and understand what the king was saying through her feeling of utter terror. Anything to help her focus on anything other then that... _thing_.

"If this works, anything the Goblin King has done to interfere with the bonding between the two of you will be removed."

"What exactly will it do?" Her father asked, moving towards her and squeezing her strapped hand comfortingly. She squeezed right back, so hard she thought she saw her father wince. Oberon answered her father's question before she could apologise.

"This process will hopefully extract any of Jareth's magic out of Sarah's veins. If he created a bond that was strong enough to impede Heroes Cordis, then most certainly some of his magic is moving through your daughter's veins. It is my hope that by extracting the magic, we will be able to break the forced bond and free your daughter from its influence. It is also my hope that, by extracting the blood, I may be able to examine it to decipher just how powerful the Goblin King really is, and perhaps, may be able to use it as a way to destroy him."

Sarah's father's face darkened. "If doing this helps you destroy the bastard that hurt my children, you have my full support." Robert said firmly.

Sarah's eyes widened in shock. Never, in the history of her life did she ever remember her father cursing like that before. A few slips of the tongue when his fingers had come in contact with a house tool, or the time he had tripped over that loose kitchen tile and broken every one of Karen's favourite china plates, sure. But never so forcefully, never with so much genuine hate and rage burning from his eyes. She looked at Karen, but only saw a look of deep approval on her stepmother's face as she stared at her husband. Sarah's eyes watered with tears of gratitude for them. It was comforting to see how much they really cared.

Oberon nodded just as approvingly at her father's words before moving towards Sarah. "Are you ready?" He asked intently.

Sarah shared a brief glance with her parents, and seeing both of their determined expressions, turned back to the king and said, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Everyone in the room seemed to share the same small smile. Oberon nodded to the brewer that he should begin. The brewer pulled several vials of liquid towards him and began measuring a few in a graduated cylinder before pouring them together. Sarah watched, stunned, as the dark blue and light pink substances joined and instantly became a clear see through liquid. Stirring it with a glass stirring rod he stepped closer to Sarah and pressed the vial to her lips. "Drink. It will numb the pain."

Sarah obediently opened her mouth and allowed the tasteless liquid being poured down her throat by the brewer. As soon as the last drop was swallowed, things began to become fuzzy. Sarah leaned her head back against the chairs head rest as her vision began to blur and her hearing began to fade. Soon all she could see was a mess of shapes and colours. Her head swivelled to the side and the last thing she remembered seeing was the brewer lift the ridiculously large syringe to his eyes, tap it twice and then lower it to her exposed arm.

She only experienced a moment of sharp pain as the needle began to penetrate her vein before she knew no more.


	13. Part Four - Chapter Three

**Part Four **

**Chapter Three**

_Sarah was falling, falling, falling, until she finally landed in a huge pile of junk. She didn't remember how she got there, or what she had been doing before she landed. In fact, she didn't seem to remember much of anything. She looked over to see that in her hand sat a peach with a single bite taken from it. As she brought it closer to her face she noticed a maggot crawling from it's centre and threw the thing away from her in disgust. She put her hand on the mountain of trash to lift herself up when she suddenly heard a voice._

"_Ahhh! Get off my back!"_

_Sarah stared in bewilderment as a wrinkly short looking old goblin lady with a ton of junk on her back appeared out of the mess of discarded objects. _

"_Why don't you watch where you're going young woman?!" She snarled at her. Sarah could only stare._

"_I was looking." Sarah whispered in confusion. The woman barely heard her but replied in a creaky voice, "Huh? And where were you going hmm?"_

_Sarah thought about it, and realized she only had one answer for the goblin woman._

"_I can't remember."_

_The woman scoffed. "You can't _look_ where your going if you don't _know _where your going."_

_Sarah's brow furrowed in __puzzlement__ as she thought about why she was here. There was only one thing that seemed clear in her befuddled mind. "I was searching for something."_

_The woman stared intently before lifting a teddy bear from the random pile of mess._

"_Well look here hmm?"_

_Sarah looked at the bear the goblin was offering her and realized with relief that she recognized it. "Lancelot?" She gasped, taking the bear and holding it close to her chest. For some reason, the teddy felt precious to her. "Thank you." She told the woman as she hugged the toy. _

"_That's what you were looking for, wasn't it my dear?" The goblin questioned._

_Sarah wasn't sure, but since holding the teddy felt so right to her in that moment, she supposed that it had to be what she had wanted._

"_Yes. I forgot." She said with a small grateful smile._

_The goblin nodded in satisfaction. "Now, why don't you, come in here, and see, if there's anything else you like hmm?" She cackled, leading Sarah to a dirty sheet acting as a door among the endless piles of junk._

_Sarah followed the woman in something of a trance and stepped forward to draw back the curtain. _

_What she saw inside made her gasp._

_She was looking at her own bedroom. She didn't know how she knew it was her room, but she did. Everything felt so comforting and familiar. She spun and sighed in relief before throwing herself on the bed and burying her face in pillows._

_She didn't know how long she lie there, but when she raised her head to find she was still in her room, and still holding Lancelot tightly to her chest, she was convinced that everything she remembered about her run had all been one big strange dream. _

"_I dreamed it all Lancelot." She told the bear, holding him close. She wondered how long she had been sleeping, and wondered if her parents were home yet. Lifting herself from the bed, she bounced to her bedroom door, and opened it only to be met with the face of the wrinkly old goblin._

"_Better to stay in here dear, there's nothing you want out there no. Ohhh no." She __snickered__, moving into the room as Sarah watched her with shocked concerned eyes. She hugged the bear to her chest in fear as the old woman began to pick things from her room and hand them to her. She took all the woman gave, determined to salvage some kind of familiarity in all this __confusion__ she was feeling. Eventually Sarah found herself seated in her vanity chair while the woman continued to press things into her hands. Slippers and games and dolls she didn't even know she still owned. Sarah stared with glazed eyes into her vanity mirror as the woman covered her with objects that only made Sarah feel more out of place._

"_Ohhh here's a treasure, you'll want that won't you my dear, yes go on put it on, make yourself up." The woman said quickly handing her a lipstick. "And here's dear old Flopsie, you'll want her right? There you go."_

_The goblin continued to speak and press things on her, but Sarah's __baffled__, befuddled mind refused to cease. The feeling that she was missing something kept going around and around in her brain. _

"_There was something I was looking for." She said out loud, her eyes stamping on the little red book sitting quietly on her vanity. The shiny gold letters on the cover read _The Labyrinth_. Tentatively Sarah picked the book up and turned to one of the last few pages. The old woman continued to speak and ramble but Sarah was no longer listening. She stared at the words that seemed all too familiar. _

"_Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way to the castle beyond the goblin city, to take back the child that you have stolen."_

_The old woman froze in her efforts to distract the girl as she repeated these lines, and then turned to look at the girl slyly. _

"_What's the matter my dear? Don't you like your toys?" The woman asked as though she knew the answer to the question already._

"_It's all junk!" Sarah declared, looking at the mountain of toys and games she had once held precious and knew now that they were completely worthless. The old lady looked at her before drawing her hand into the massive pile of objects on her back. _

"_Well what about _this_? _This_ is not junk." She declared craftily, placing on the vanity before the girl another little red book._

_Sarah's brain froze as she stared at the tattered old book on her vanity. It was very similar to The Labyrinth, only it didn't have the writing, and looked as though it had suffered centuries of handling. Something clicked in Sarah's mind in that moment, for she knew she had seen this book before, but she also knew that something about this whole thing was wrong. She looked around frantically, trying to figure it out while the old, bent woman watched with mild amusement. Finally Sarah's eyes found what she did not even know she had been looking for. _

"_This is wrong." She declared, rising to her feet and letting all the objects on her back and in her arms fall to the ground. The only thing she kept in her hand was _The Labyrinth_ book as she moved towards the thing that had her focus. The old lady simply watched patiently._

"_What's that deary?" She asked, but there was that tone again, like she already knew the answer to her own question, and was only waiting indulgently for _her_ to figure it out. _

_Sarah looke__d baffled __around the fabricated room, before meeting the eyes of the goblin lady._

"_This isn't how it happened." She told her, picking up the small antique music box on a cabinet next to the stuffed fox that resem__bled Sir __Didymus__. _

"_You weren't supposed to give me a book. You were supposed to give me this music box." She declared, her memory seemingly joining together piece by piece. She looked at the goblin suspiciously. "This has happened before. This isn't real."_

_The goblin only watched as memory after memory flooded back to Sarah. She remembered this moment during her run, how she had thrown the music box and the ceiling had came tumbling down. How she had made it to the castle in time to save Toby. One by one her__ memories came back to her unt__il she recalled the last thing she had seen. She subconsciously touched the spot on her right arm where the needle of the syringe had penetrated, but found only smooth skin. _

_Casting her eyes around the room again she seemed to notice a strange haze to the edges of her surroundings, like her imagination was straining itself in an effort to keep it all in focus._

_She looked at the goblin lady again, and saw on her face an almost smug smile, as though she had known this fact all along. _

"_This is a dream, isn't it?" Sarah asked the goblin, watching as the picture of her past room shimmered and faltered. _

_The goblin spoke in a sly tone. "Of course deary. But that does not mean that what you see is not real." The woman told her, casting her strange eyes to the vanity where the little book, almost identical to _The Labyrinth,_ still sat. _

_Sarah stared at the lady and than the book. Quickly she moved to her vanity, casting aside the music box and stepping over the piles of junk that seemed to disappear from existence the second she drew close. She quickly snatched the book up and held it side by side to _The Labyrinth_. She knew she had seen this book before; she just couldn't... quite..._

_Sarah spun to face the goblin so fast she swayed before holing up both books to the air._

"_This is Oberon's book! There is a connection between the two isn't there? I knew I was right." She declared, pulling both books close to her eyes._

_The goblin re-adjusted the pile of junk on her back before regarding the girl with a cunning gaze. _

"_The answer you seek is closer than you think." She croaked._

_Sarah stopped staring wondrously at the books to stare at the old goblin lady instead. She noticed strangely that while the image of the room was hazy and slightly out of focus, the woman seemed to be more realistic than even herself. For a second she considered the possibility that that meant she wasn't dreaming _her_, before she quickly dismissed it to ask her a question. "What do you mean, 'the answer'?"_

_The woman merely hoisted the pile of miscellaneous objects onto her shoulders before taking a subtle step closer to Sarah. The green eyed girl was suddenly struck with a strange fear that __paralysed__ her as the woman reached up and effortlessly plucked the duplicate copy of The Labyrinth from her hand. She tried to snatch it back, but her hand went through it as though it were sand._

"_The answer to all you're problems child..." The goblin said, pulling on Sarah's arm until she finally complied and bent down. When she was in a kneeling position in front of the short woman, the goblin leaned forward to whisper in her ear._

"_... Is in the labyrinth."_

_And than suddenly there was a loud CRASH, and Sarah jumped back as, just as she remembered, the walls began to collapse upon themselves._

"_What's happening?!" She screamed in fear, leaping to her feet as the goblin woman merely stood looking completely unfazed by the unfolding events._

"_You're waking up my dear. Do try to remember what you have learned here this night, for if not, your world too shall crumble." _

_And with that the goblin woman seemed to fade into nothingness, much as Sarah had seen Jareth do on numerous occasions in the past. The walls around her kept falling and Sarah cowered under the descending debris and screamed, willing herself to wake up. The crumbling wood and rubble started to build up around her, suffocating her, and she pressed herself tightly into the ground to avoid it. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, and just when Sarah feared that she would never awaken, and she would die in this dream and be forever dead, did her heart give one last almighty _pound_ and she bolted awake._

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Oberon was sitting in the large dining hall talking with Titania when a messenger entered the room and headed straight for the royal table. Mostly every member of fae staff in the castle ate at this time, except for the few guards who had just started their duties and some other random workers who chose to have their supper late or early. As a result, the dining hall was populated with over thirty tables, all of them packed and full of talking guests, guards, gardeners, maids, and other workers. The dark haired messenger entered the dining hall and went straight for the High Royals table which sat on a long elevated platform. Two guards in brown attire barred the woman's approach, but the king, seeing the woman, waved her forward.

He had instructed the messenger to inform him if there were any changes to Sarah's condition, and knew she would not have left her station unless there had been. He stood to greet the black haired woman, and she curtsied and spoke. Because of the noise of the room, only the king and his queen, who was still seated on the chair beside his own, heard her. Oberon listened intently and then scanned the room for the Williams family. They were seated to the far right, out of the way of most of the commotion as Oberon knew of Sarah's anxiety around large groups. He politely excused himself from the table.

Jordan was seated with them, who both Robert and Karen had taken a particular shine to, especially after Oberon had explained about the magic bond shared between himself and their daughter, and about the fact that it was Jordan who had rescued her from the Goblin Kingdom. Despite being several hundreds of years older than the pair of them, both of Sarah's parents tended to see and address Jordan as a young man. Not with any kind of condescension, just with a discernible difference to how they spoke around Oberon and other older looking fae they had come across. Sarah had coached them a little on etiquette, since not only had she been here a while but had also read lots of books about such things, and the two Williams adults had tried to apply her suggestions properly. Both Robert and Karen still felt completely wrong footed in this medieval place of kings and magic, but they were adapting well. Oberon had explained about Jareth and his ability to travel between worlds, and explained that there was no way of returning the family Aboveground until that man had been dealt with. To do so would be putting both Toby and Sarah in danger, as Jareth already had a strange claim to both.

As Oberon passed each table to reach the Williams's, all the tables he past turned respectfully silent. Karen, who noticed the silence, looked up to see the king approaching and nudged Robert, who was deep in discussion with Jordan about the way the law system worked in the Underground, a fascinating subject for him considering his occupation as a lawyer.

When Oberon finally reached the table, both Robert and Jordan had stood to respectfully greet the king.

"Mr and Mrs Williams, I have just been informed that Sarah has finally awoken." He said shortly and briefly.

Everyone at the table reacted with almost the same level of excitement. Toby, who Karen had been trying to keep silent during the exchange, now bounced in his chair.

"Sarah's awake! Can we go see her mummy?" He squealed, jumping down from the chair despite Karen's efforts to keep him still. He rushed over to the king, staring up at him with big light blue eyes. "Can we see Sarah pleeeeeease?"

A light little snicker sounded in the room as everyone who had been trying to appear like they weren't listening, were amused by the young boys antics. Children weren't usually allowed in the main dining hall, but Oberon had made an exception for the mortal family. Not many of the common staff knew why they were here or why the king seemed to be giving them special treatment, but as many were loyal to the great king, none questioned his motives.

Oberon smiled down at the boy child. "Of course you may, if you would like to follow Cathy here," He said gesturing to the messenger who had been standing outside Sarah's door, "She will lead you to her room." Karen quickly scooped Toby up in her arms while Robert addressed the king. "I thought you said you wished to speak to her. Aren't you coming?"

Oberon shook his head.

"I will speak with her later, right now, I think it best we not overwhelm her. We removed more blood than we had anticipated we would need too, and I am sure she will still be very tired, even after three days of sleep."

Robert nodded his head in understanding and appreciation before following the messenger and his wife out of the room. Jordan made to follow, but Oberon placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Give them some time alone Jordan. You can always check on her later."

Jordan looked longingly after the family retreating from the dining hall, but sighed in resignation and agreed. Looking at the king he said, "When you see her, are you going to tell her about what we found in her blood?"

The king regarded the boy calmly before speaking in a quieter tone. "Not just yet. We need more time."

Jordan only nodded in understanding and stood with the king until the family was gone.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Sarah felt dizzy and weak. After she had woken up in the room she had been in the first night she was brought here, she had experienced a moment of panic to find herself alone. She had rushed to the door, despite the fact that she could barely walk on her numb legs, and wrenched it open only to find a dark skinned girl with strange inhuman looking purple eyes looking back at her in shock. After a brief conversation the messenger told her that she had been instructed by the king to inform him when she was awake and excused herself to fulfil her duty, leaving Sarah alone.

She wobbled back to the bed, trying not to trip over the long shapeless nightgown she was in, and flopped back down. Her head was full of mist and confusion. She felt like there were things that she should be trying to remember or recall, but her brain was far to groggy for serious concentration. She lifted her hand to her forehead to rub the tension away, and it was then she noticed the little sliver of white peeping out of the right sleeve of her beige nightgown. She pulled the sleeve slowly back to reveal a simple white piece of cloth wrapped around the place she knew the syringe had penetrated. She touched it lightly, expecting to feel pain, but there was nothing. She wanted desperately to unravel it and see what was underneath, but before she could make a decision either way, the door burst open and a little human missile slammed into her before she had time to anticipate it.

A moment later Toby's struggling body was lifted off Sarah by their father, who was scolding the boy and telling him Sarah was still far to weak to handle such attention.

But Sarah dismissed her father's concerns and swooped Toby up in her arms, feeling as though she hadn't seen him in days. After a large hug with all her family, her father insisted she get under the covers and at least lie down while they talked.

"I'm fine dad, really." She assured him for the third time as she laid her back on the pillows Karen had plumped up for her. Toby was now sitting in the corner pouting because he couldn't be with his sister, but Karen swept him up and held him on her lap as they both sat down on chairs facing Sarah.

"How long was I out?" Was the first question she asked her parents as she adjusted herself to make herself comfortable.

"Three days. Oberon said they had to take more blood than they first anticipated. Apparently more of that... _man's_... magic was inside you than they thought. You've been recovering non stop since." Her father explained.

Three days. She supposed that wasn't so bad, it would explain why she felt so weak and shaky on her legs. She was, however, surprised about her father's statement that more of Jareth's magic was inside her than Oberon had anticipated. She wondered what that meant, if it indeed meant anything, but decided to stow that question away for Oberon himself.

She asked them what they had been doing, and they brushed off the last few days as uneventful, though Toby talked for a whole twenty minutes about how the nursery nanny had taken him and the other children to the castle stables to meet Oberon's horse Poseidon, and Toby could not stop teaching Sarah all the differences he had learned between a regular horse and an Underground one. Sarah listened intently as her baby brother talked, pleased that they had all been alright while she had been unconscious. She was just starting to feel tired again, when there came a knock on the door. Robert sauntered over to open it and Sarah heard, "I thought she might want something to eat or drink." Before she saw Jordan walk into the room pushing a small cart in front of him.

Sarah stopped breathing.

When she saw Jordan, it was like a small part of her brain exploded. She blinked a few times to try and shake off what she was seeing, but it didn't change a thing.

There was a light, like a thin incandescent golden cloak, surrounding the man. It felt like she was looking at purity. She couldn't tear her eyes away.

And then their eyes met. She suddenly didn't feel tired or heavy or weak at all, in fact she felt lighter than she had ever been. So light in fact, she was surprised she wasn't pulling an _Exorcist_ and floating from the bed. Her pupils seemed to dilate and her head started to go fuzzy, and all she saw was him. Everything else in the room seemed to dim too grey, and then there was just him, standing in a light of gold, smiling at her.

She gave him a smile right back. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world, to smile. To smile at him.

And then the moment passed, almost as soon as it had come and Sarah was hit with the noise of the world rushing back to her in a crashing wave. She heard Jordan talking to her father and Karen talking to Toby and she blinked and shifted her eyes, but none seemed to notice what had just happened to her.

She raised her eyes to look at Jordan again, and the glow was gone, now he was standing before her in a simple white blouse and grey breeches. Adjusting to the different fashion sense in this world had been one of the strangest trivial things Sarah had had to deal with since she'd been here. With as young as Jordan looked, the smartness of the outfit seemed to sit a little misplaced on him. For some reason it appeared as though he was coming to pick her up for prom. Sarah suddenly let out a giggle at how absurd that thought was, which swiftly put her in the attention of everyone in the room.

"She's still a little out of it." She heard her father say, as her eyes refused to leave Jordan's face. "Maybe we should come back tomorrow after she's had more chance to rest."

"No!" Sarah practically shouted, making shocked faces of everyone in the room. Sarah didn't know why, but for some reason, some unknown reason, she didn't want Jordan to leave. She didn't want _any_ of them to _leave_, but she wanted Jordan to _stay_. Unable to put this strange want into words even to herself, Sarah quickly attempted to amend the tension. "I mean... I'm fine. You don't have to leave, I..."

"Sarah." Her father said, in a stern fatherly voice that let Sarah know arguing would be pointless. "You need rest. We don't want to make you sick by overtiring you too soon. We will be back to see you in the morning. For now, get some sleep."

Sarah turned slightly pleading eyes to Karen, but she only shrugged with an expression that said, 'listen to your father,' before standing up and pulling Toby's now limp body into her arms more securely.

Jordan smiled at the pouting girl in the bed and moved forward pushing the small cart of water and fruit towards her. Under the guise of pouring a glass of water for her, he leaned over and handed it to her before whispering discreetly in her ear, "I'll be back later." Every nerve in Sarah's body seemed to tingle and come alive at his closeness, but before Sarah could explore the feeling fully, Jordan turned and walked through the open door that her father was holding for him. Her father gave her one final smile and a nod before retreating, leaving her alone again.

_I'll be back later? What did _that_ mean?_

Sarah took a sip of the water he had handed her before putting it back on the cart and dropping her head onto the pillows to contemplate Jordan's words. Within seconds, she was asleep.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

"She wasn't that tired; couldn't we have stayed a little longer?" Toby asked, snuggling deeper into his mother's arms. Robert carefully took the sleepy child into his own embrace as the family and Jordan continued to walk through the halls to their rooms.

"It's late kiddo, your sister needs some sleep, and so do you."

"But I'm not sleepy." The boy murmured, a sudden yawn betraying his words.

"It's been a long day Toby-bear; you can see your sister tomorrow." Karen said, ruffling the boy's hair.

Jordan only smiled at the family's interaction. It was plain from the family's behaviour where Sarah had inherited her nurturing side.

The group was so wrapped up in each other that none noticed a pair of squinting eyes peeking at them from behind a simple wooden door they passed. The face held a scowl as it watched the mortal family retreat into rooms meant for royalty. Mortals! In royal chambers! The eyes were black with rage, and a wicked inhuman smile curled on the lips of the spy as their fingers clenched around a single shining round magical crystal ball.


	14. Part Four - Chapter Four

**Part Four **

**Chapter Four**

As he promised, Jordan did indeed come back later. Sarah was only half asleep when she heard the sound of gentle knocking before the door quietly opened. She stared wide-eyed into the darkness until the visage of Jordan appeared, standing close to the bed and smiling down at her mischievously.

"What are you doing in here?" She demanded to know, sitting up straight and pulling the covers up to her chin in a attempt to recover decency. She was wearing a nightgown under the blanket, and he had seen her in the thing before, but that was hardly the point.

Jordan smirked and pulled a chair up to sit closer to the bed, lighting a small candle on the bedside table beside her, giving him a dim, flickery view of her shocked face.

"Visiting you." He said with a mocking nonchalance, leaning back in his chair and folding one leg over the other tauntingly.

Sarah had no energy or means to summon real anger, so she settled for indignant and sat straighter. "You couldn't have _visited_ in the morning? What time is it?" She asked, her gaze going to the window. It was still dark outside, though it was winter, so the sky was no real indication of the time.

He continued to smile, "It's little after six, so technically, it _is_ morning." He answered her amused.

She pursed her lips, "You know what I mean. Why are you here?" She questioned, completely dismissing the small sliver of relief, and, perhaps, excitement she felt at him being with her, and them being all alone.

_Oh, get a grip Sarah! _

"I told you I'd be back. I just wanted a chance to talk to you without anyone else around." He replied with a one shoulder shrug and a smile.

Without meaning to, Sarah smiled in return. "You know, if my father caught you in here alone, he'd probably kill you." She told him before she could bite her tongue. To her surprise, he let out a light chuckle at her comment.

"Don't worry, I'm stealthy." Came his reply.

Sarah let out an involuntary giggle of her own. Jordan had never heard her sound like that. At least, not around him. He felt a glow of pride at having made her laugh and smile.

"So, how are you feeling? I didn't really get a chance to ask you earlier."

Sarah twiddled her fingers while she thought about it.

"My head's still a little fuzzy, and for some reason I keep feeling like there's something my brain is trying to remember, but can't. Other than that, I guess I'm okay." She answered him, feeling completely lame. She turned to him, trying to cover up this odd feeling before it became obvious. "How are you?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Worried about me Sarah?" He asked pleased. Sarah, for some unknown reason, blushed.

Jordan continued before she could say anything more stupid. "I've been fine. I mean, I was worried about you, we all were. But now that you're alright, _I'm_ alright."

"You were worried?" Sarah asked him quickly, and then could have kicked herself or how disbelieving and needy she had sounded just then. The one light source in the room flickered and swayed, dancing strange light over his young looking features. She didn't know how old he was, and decided to make a point of asking him later, but sometimes it was difficult to remember that he wasn't her age. Even with Oberon's explanations of time differences and how age meant little here as a consequence, she couldn't help but feel like the less mature person in the room. She wasn't petulant, far from it, but she felt like she had to remind herself that this was not some teenage boy sitting across from her. For some reason, the thought made her sad.

Jordan watched the embarrassed flush come over her pale beautiful face and wondered why she was embarrassed. He also wondered why she would need to ask the question in the first place.

"Of course." He said simply, looking at her and almost matching her own confusion. Sarah was looking at him in a way she never had before, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Of course it didn't help matters that she was human. Humans felt things differently to fae, and she being the first human he had ever met, and also being quite a bit more complex than the average human, he'd wager, it was difficult to discern her feelings. She stared at him with that strangeness before looking away and down.

"Because of the bond?" Sarah asked him in a quiet, and somewhat disappointed, tone.

Jordan couldn't stop the small, bewildered smile that came across his face. He answered her honestly.

"Well, yes," He said, watching her nod her head still staring at her cover sheets. "I don't know how the bond is supposed to affect the way I feel about you Sarah. But magic or none, I still care about you, and I have a feeling that isn't going to change." He said firmly.

Sarah raised her head to look at him quickly. Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks blushed a deeper shade of red.

_Seriously Sarah, would you stop acting like some school girl with a crush! You barely know this person, get a grip!_

But she couldn't help it. Something about being with him just made her feel so light and burden-less. She wondered if this was how she was suppose to feel like without Jareth's magic coursing through her, or if this was the result of simply being with _him_.

Was she feeling the bond the way it was meant to be felt now? Was this what Oberon had been describing when he had talked about it? It was easy to be with him, and just hearing him say that he had feelings for her. That he felt something for her, something real, made her feel better.

Jordan started talking again before Sarah could show herself up any further.

"I am glad you brought up the bond though," He said quickly, his tone going from serious to giddy. In the pale darkness Sarah watched as Jordan leaned forward and slowly removed his leather gloves.

Sarah tensed slightly.

Jordan saw her hesitation, but held his hand out for her anyway. "Want to take it for a test run?" He asked her.

Sarah swallowed, staring at his naked hand.

Did she?

"I don't know," She told him honestly, "It always makes me feel kind of woozy."

Jordan did not remove his hand, "Ahhh, but that was _before_ your operation. It might feel different now. Don't you at least want to try?" He asked, his excitement very clearly showing.

Sarah smiled a little. She could understand why Jordan would want to see if the strange feeling that past between them felt any different now that Jareth's magic had been removed, but whether it would feel better or worse was the problem she would need to address.

Deciding that she might as well just humour him, she closed the distance between them and tentatively placed her hand to his.

It _was_ different.

Sarah was almost knocked off the bed by the power of it, but the strange thing about it was that it didn't feel as aggressively strong as it had the first two times. Now, as she stared into the mesmerizing glow that blossomed between the connected hands, she felt a kind of... purity... to it. Like it was... _cleansing_ her.

It was only then she realised what a stain Jareth's magic had truly left on her. Oberon had said that the magic of the bond had been pure, and whatever Jareth had done in his attempt to bind them together had been dirty. Having his magic removed from her, she now felt cleaner, like she was no longer being polluted with his disease. That's what he was, what he had always been; a disease.

This time, they both disengaged at the same time. Despite the change in the flow of the power as it coursed through her, it still made her feel... overwhelmed. She looked at Jordan as she withdrew her hand a safe distance, he was heaving and panting as heavily as she was, with the same dazed look. When their gazes locked, she was intrigued, not scared, _intrigued_, with the level of intensity he stared at her with.

"You feel that don't you? That power? The raw energy of it?" He asked in whispered awe. She nodded.

"But doesn't it frighten you?" She asked him back, throwing etiquette to the wind and manoeuvring herself so she was sitting cross-legged on top of the covers. Jordan watched her with slightly golden blinded eyes.

"Frighten?"

"Yeah, I mean. This power _killed_ those two brothers. And maybe it was their choice and they let it happen, maybe even meant it to happen, but it still killed them. Aren't you worried that the more we do this, the more chance we take of that happening to _us_?"

Jordan stared as he considered her words, coming down from his slightly dazed high. The bond magic _had_ felt different, more real. He wondered how it was for her now that the seal on the bond had been broken.

He shook his head. "I believe those brothers chose to let the power consume them Sarah. They chose it to save their king. And yes, I'd be lying if I said that the power of this bond doesn't scare me a little, but I don't think there's anything _bad_ about it. I mean, does it feel _bad_ to you?"

Sarah stared at the fervour in his face. The darkness outside was slowly starting to lighten as the hours progressed. Because of the positioning of the castle, Sarah wouldn't see the sun from this room until the afternoon, but the sky was getting brighter, which made it easier for her to see the gleam in his eyes. She shook her head. "No, it doesn't feel _bad_, it just... well, I don't really know how it feels. I'm not really used to feeling magic. I didn't even know some of Jareth's magic was inside me until a few days ago, and even if I did, its not like I have any special magical powers." She said flippantly.

Jordan opened his mouth to comment on her statement, but then snapped it firmly shut. He had promised Oberon that he wouldn't say anything to her about what the brewer had found in her blood, and didn't want to break his promise. Oberon had said he wished to tell her himself; he'd leave it to him.

"But even if you don't have magic," He said quickly, amending the silence so as not to give anything away, "Do you feel how strong it is, even when were not holding hands. I mean, I know that just being near you I feel... lighter. Less burdened. It feels..."

"Right." She finished his sentence for him, then blushed slightly and looked away, realising that she had been leaning towards him while he spoke and recovered her composer. She realised then that this, now, was what it felt to be truly relaxed around someone. Even though she wouldn't necessarily classify it as relaxing - being with him - she didn't feel the need to constantly multiple choice her words, or keep a constant eye on her posture, or just stay silent out of fear that saying the wrong thing would result in consequences. Speaking to him now, it was like talking to one of her friends back home. Easy, casual, and enjoyable. Even though the things they were discussing were bizarre and wonderful; it still felt... good.

It felt _right_.

Something occurred to Sarah in that moment about this whole bonded thing. She realised that even before she knew of it, or knew of him, it had started to work the moment they had met.

Not officially met, but looking back on the day of her nineteenth birthday, she realised she had only just started awakening to herself again after she had danced before him, his father, and the other dignitaries in the Throne Room. Was that really all it had taken? They hadn't spoken, she didn't even fully look at him, but her eyes must of scanned him at least fractionally, and that was all it had taken for the fire she had long thought extinguished to begin shimmering back to life again. She had started to rebel again, started to _fight_ again, all because of him.

She almost wanted to roll her eyes at the absurdity of it all. This was sure a far cry from taking Advanced English Lit classes, talking to her friends and eating in a school cafeteria.

Gods she missed the simple days. Her life was anything but simple now.

"What's with the smile?" He asked her after a brief silence. She had been staring off into the distance strangely, like she was lost in her own imagination.

"I was just remembering my life before I was brought here. I can't believe there was once a time that I resented how mundane and ordinary everything used to be. I'd give anything to have that back."

Jordan leaned back in his chair and considered her words. He was slightly disappointed that the focus of the conversation was off of the two of them, but supposed that he should be glad she was at least talking to him. Deciding this was a perfect opportunity to get some information out of her, he asked. "Will you tell me what your life was like Aboveground then?"

Sarah spent the next few hours talking with Jordan. They talked about all kinds of things. A day to day breakdown of her life back home. What the human world was really like. What the Underground was like. They talked until the sun was shining brightly enough for Jordan to finally lean forward and blow out the dwindling candle on her bedside table. Sarah watched as the thin pulse of smoke rose and disappeared from sight, wondering why she didn't feel hungry or thirsty. They had been speaking for hours and yet she had no desire to move or leave the room. She hadn't spoken to anyone so much in a long, long time. Speaking with him was as easy as speaking to one of her Aboveground friends.

She had a friend. She had not thought such a small thing could ever give her so much pleasure.

For his part, Jordan felt almost exactly the same way. He didn't really get along with anyone in his father's estate, and he had always had to say and do things that would please his father rather than what he really wanted to say and do. Being in this kingdom was different. Being with _her_ was different.

Though she had enjoyed speaking with him, it wasn't lost on Sarah that they had talked about practically everything except for him, and decided it was time to wring some answers out of him.

"So what about you? What was your childhood like?" She asked with genuine intrigue.

The large smile that had been sitting on his face for ages suddenly lost some of its light. Sarah noticed, and tilting her head to the side gave him a concerned look. "Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm fine." He replied in a slightly subdued tone. His attempt at censoring went ignored.

"Do you not want to tell me?" She asked, recognizing his hesitation as secrecy and perhaps a little shame. She realised she knew very little about him as a person. He had kind of just popped into her life and swooped her away without a moments notice. He had came out of nowhere, and while they had been building a fragile friendship of sorts, she still didn't know how he came to be Oberon's spy in the first place, especially since his father was part of an UnSeelie kingdom.

Jordan raised his darkened eyes to her imploring green ones and said gently, "It's not really a... fun tale." He said quietly. Sarah appreciated his hesitation, but there was no way she was going to back down. She had shared every dark, horrible corner of her life with _him_, the least he could do was return the favour.

She caught his eye with her own and scooted closer to him from where she sat on the edge of the bed.

"What you told me in the library a few days ago, about your father abusing you and your mother, was that true?" She asked delicately.

Jordan raised surprised blue eyes to hers. He was surprised that she had remembered what he had told her in his fit of anger. He hadn't even really meant to tell her that, but he had been desperate to find some kind of common ground with her, not to mention let her know that she wasn't alone in the world of Unseelie fae. That there were other people stuck in that place that had never felt like they had belonged there, and though Jordan had never been a slave, he had been just as much a prisoner of that place as she had been.

He nodded his head in confirmation.

Sarah extended her hand, as if to take his own, but pulled back at the last minute. He still wasn't wearing gloves, and she wanted to keep the focus of the conversation before it was lost.

She gave him a small understanding smile.

"You can talk to me you know. I wont judge. As if I'd have any right to." She told him gently.

Jordan let out a long sigh. Some of her stubbornness was coming back, and he sensed it would be pointless not to just give in to her. Besides, part of him wanted to tell her everything; he wanted her to know everything about him as he did of her.

"Did you know that, sometimes, UnSeelie and Seelie breed together?" He asked her, deciding to start at the beginning.

Sarah shook her head, not really understanding the significance of the information he had given her, but knowing that since Seelie and UnSeelie hated each other, it seemed a very strange thing to occur.

"Well, when my mother was young, she was abducted into an UnSeelie kingdom during the aftermath of the war." He began.

Sarah's eyes widened, her head already brimming with questions, but decided not to interrupt him until he was finished.

"She was kept as a servant until she reached maturity... and that's when my father bought her."

Sarah was shocked, and threw her earlier decision to the wind.

"He _bought_ her?"

Jordan nodded gravely. "He took a fancy to her I suppose, and he is a wealthy man in his own right. He works directly below one of the kings of the Marshlands, and has a lot of status in the Marshlands overall. I suppose... he never expected her to get pregnant."

Sarah felt like she was going to be sick. He looked so sad and so matter-of-fact at the same time, like he was trying to tell the story without crying. She wanted to console him, because she had a feeling she knew what had been done to his mother, and could most certainly relate, but she didn't really know the right thing to say.

She decided to simply sit there and let him speak, sensing it was doing him some good to share with someone who really cared.

"As you might know, it is difficult for fae to conceive, and I don't think he expected her to bare him a child, despite the fact that he already had two. He married her for it, but treated her terribly. Most of my oldest memories are of my father yelling and my mother crying. She wasn't really the kind of person who fought back, and from what I remember, she didn't really have any real confidants in my father's manner. None except me, and I always kind of suspected that she didn't really like me all that much, because I was just something that he _forced_ inside her." He said with a small sad shrug.

Sarah put her hand over her heart in a self-conscious gesture of sympathy. She knew what it was like to be unloved by a parent, and would have said so, but wanted to keep the focus on him. "Is she still..?" Sarah let the unfinished question hang in the air, not wanting to be too intrusive or nosy.

He shook his head. "No." He answered her unspoken question. "When I was a child, she grew very ill, and spent months in pain before she finally died. I feel terrible for her. Thanks to the UnSeelie, she had a tragic, joyless life that ended horribly. She may not have loved me. But I loved her. I _love_ her." He corrected himself, meeting her shimmering green eyes.

Sarah wanted to cry out of the pain she saw in his eyes. In all their previous conversations, they had always spoken so much about her suffering. She had no idea that all the while he had been holding _this_ inside. Was this why he was plotting against the UnSeelie race with Oberon, because of his mother?

"But... wait. If your mother was Seelie and your father is UnSeelie, what exactly does that make you?" She asked slowly, again, not wanting to appear as though she were prying.

Jordan gave her another sad little smile. "A half-breed. There aren't many of us, as I understand, but with fae with both light and dark blood inside us, we can go either way. Oberon took a huge chance in reaching out to me. Somehow he knew about me and who I was, and asked for my help. I was in contact with him in secrecy two years before he assigned me the task of watching over the Goblin Kingdom. It was the closest kingdom to ours, and I never thought I'd be so lucky for the opportunity to actually go there, but over the years I managed to convince my father that I was more like him than my mother, and so he agreed to take me with him. I hoped I could find out something about the way Jareth operated his kingdom that would be useful to Oberon. And instead, I found you." He said, with a more sincere smile.

Sarah dismissed the light fluttering in her stomach at the smile he was giving her. There were still so many things she needed to know.

"So you're working for Oberon because of your mother? But what about your father Jordan? What Oberon is doing now could end up killing him. You're seriously telling me you don't have a problem with that?" She asked him incredulously, unable to fathom the possibility of the person before her being capable of committing patricide. Even if it wasn't directly, it would be something close.

Jordan blew an agitated huff of air through his nose as he regarded the dark haired girl before him.

"It's not so simple Sarah. This isn't about my dislike for my father, or my personal feelings, it's about doing what's right. The UnSeelie are a corrupted twisted race that are not capable of any kind of real love or compassion. _You_ of all people should know _that_! Their dangerous, and they can't just be let alone to hurt more people. If Oberon had found a way to achieve this spell a year earlier, you may never have been taken. Jareth never would have hurt you or your brother. How would you have felt about the spell then?!" He questioned with a slightly accusing edge.

Sarah was taken aback by the menace in his tone. He was so worked up, probably because she sounded like she was judging him. She wasn't. He was right, about the UnSeelie and all of it. All of Jareth's subjects had watched him do something awful to her at one point or another, and no one had ever lifted a finger to help her. She understood if they had kept quiet because they feared the king's obvious power, but sometimes she had even sensed some amusement in response to some of the things Jareth had made her do in public; particularly from his guards, and councilmen.

She understood why Jordan was telling himself that it wasn't personal, even if she sensed he didn't even fully believe that himself. It was just like Oberon. She was sure he wanted to take out the UnSeelie to save his kingdom from war, but she was also sure that he still held a little resentment towards them for killing his father and brother.

Either way, the whole thing wasn't really any of her business. The only real UnSeelie she held anything against was Jareth, and as she had thought many times before, if he were to die, the only tears she'd shed would be tears of joy.

Sarah decided to move the conversation along before she could berate herself for behaving so inhumanly.

"What about you?" She suddenly asked, the thought coming to her completely out of nowhere.

"What about me?" He replied, looking and sounding confused.

Sarah thought of how best to word it. "Well, your not fully UnSeelie, but your not fully Seelie either. If Oberon completes this spell and uses it to kill all the UnSeelie, aren't you afraid that it might kill you as well, because you have UnSeelie blood inside you?" She questioned thoughtfully.

Jordan blinked at her. Honestly, that wasn't something he had ever considered before, that the spell may work on him as well. And he supposed it should have, but he had always been so ashamed of his UnSeelie blood. He had hated living in that place before _and_ after his mother died, and had been unwilling to admit his own father's blood ran through his veins even to himself. He and Sarah had more in common than even she knew. They had both been forced into a world they hated and polluted with dark magic, the only question was, would either of them ever truly be free?

Jordan looked over at the girl on the bed. Her hair was a mess and she had slightly dark circles under her eyes from where they had been up all night, but still, he found her beautiful. There was a lot of pain in her, sure, but she hadn't let it darken her soul. All he had to do was watch her around her brother to know how much light and purity she still possessed; perhaps if the UnSeelie were gone, they could heal each others pain together.

"I suppose it worries me a little." He answered her honestly. "But if the spell works, than either way, this world will be safe, and you will be free." He stated.

Sarah drew back slightly at his rather abrupt words.

"My freedom really means that much to you?" She asked, half sarcastic, half wholeheartedly sincere.

Jordan's small little genuine smile re-appeared as the focus of the conversation moved back to them. He gave her a single nod.

"From the first moment I saw you Sarah, I knew I would do anything for you. You may think me too forward for saying this, but when I first saw you, whether it was the bond or myself, I knew I'd move the stars for you. Back home, I had never felt that way about anyone, and then I saw you and you were so beautiful, and you seemed so sad, that I just couldn't believe the luck that actually _let_ me find you. You have no idea the way I felt when I first saw your face. It was like my world had turned completely upside-down."

Sarah's eyes widened and her heart began to race at the honest emotion in his speech. She believed every word he had spoken, and even believed that some of the things he was describing he felt, she now felt too. But how much of this feeling was about the bonding, and how much was really about her?

_Does it matter? Jeez Sarah, why do you always have to look for the bad? There has been enough bad. Just be happy that he makes you feel happy. It doesn't have to go any further than that._

She was right. It didn't have to mean anything else. Being close to him made her feel good. More free. And honestly, a feeling of freedom was something she could definitely get used to.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Jareth relished the man's scream of pain as he brought down his whip with a practised hand. He watched as more blood oozed from the new rip in the man's back as he threw his whip to the side. One of his watching men quickly stepped forward to snatch it up from the ground before retreating into the shadows. Jareth addressed the crowd.

"This is the consequence for letting intruders past your stations. I would advise all of you to pay better attention in future, lest you want to end up like them." He said, grandly gesturing a hand to the other five incompetent guards who had been assigned to guard Sarah's floor.

"Randeen, finish my work for me here would you, I have other more important business to handle." The king said dismissively, before swirling around and exiting the dungeon. The guard's screech of pain followed him as he marched towards the lower cells, his cloak hissing across the cold dark stone behind him.

He was still angry. Angry and restless and found that his old remedies of simply torturing a few of his goblins and subjects wasn't doing anything to relieve his frustration. He knew what he needed. Who he needed. And there was only one person he could speak to in the hopes of getting her back.

He moved purposefully down to the lower levels of the dungeons. There was little light down there, but his sight was impeccable. Only in his owl form was his sight any more superior. He had a lot of power as a fae, but right now he felt powerless and he hated it. He had felt this way only once before, when she had left the first time. He had waited years to get her back. And not just three human years as he had once led her to believe. Then he had finally had her; he had moulded her, shaped her, trained her to be exactly what he wanted. He was not about to let some _child_ destroy everything he had worked so hard to achieve.

A large guard standing at the bottom of the stairwell bowed to him as he passed, walking through a row of empty cells to reach the only occupancy left.

The figure sitting in the small cell was dishevelled and dirty, but otherwise unharmed. Jareth hadn't tortured him, yet. He needed the man awake and coherent for him to question, but had nevertheless allowed him to sit in this cell for almost two weeks and listen to the screams of the men whose fate he to would suffer if he was not completely honest with him.

"Your son has taken something precious to me. I want to know everything about him and everything you know about Oberon." He told the figure.

The shadow of the duke lightened as he came closer to the bars sealing him in the prison room. The normally well groomed, sophisticated man now stared at the dark eyes of the Goblin King in fear. Jareth was a powerful king, and though the duke had power and prestige of his own it did not hold a candle to the Goblin King, especially in his own kingdom. Even if the king he served under were to demand his release, Jareth could quite possibly overrule his claim. He cursed the name of his youngest son for getting him into this mess.

"What... what does the Seelie High King have to do with this?" He asked trying in vain to cover the tremble in his voice.

Jareth looked down upon the man with the condescension of a person who knew more than the other.

"You're honestly telling me that your own son was in league with the Seelie court and you had no idea what he was doing?"

The duke stared at the intimidating visage of the king in shock and bewilderment. No. How could such a thing be so? His son, his blood, in league with the Seelie High King? How could he not have known?

"I had no idea Your Majesty. I swear it. That Jordan could be involved with the Seelie court was knowledge I was completely ignorant to..."

"Oh I have no doubt of that!" Jareth said snidely, pacing slightly back and forth as he regarded the man in his cells. "Unfortunately for you, the fact that your son has taken something that I very much need to be returned is the reason you are still here. Holding you here is the only possible guarantee I have for luring that ignorant son of yours back to my kingdom."

The man stared at the king with fear and confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked fearfully.

The king regarded the man solemnly. "I intend to use certain contacts I have within the Seelie kingdom to spread the news of your upcoming trial. If your son truly cares about your fate, I am hoping he will return in an attempt to rescue you before your fate is sealed."

The silence that followed this comment was charged. The duke didn't know which of the king's words to address first, but decided to go with the most ominous.

"My fate?"

The unfeeling expression on the Goblin King's face broke into a cruel little upturned smile.

"You best pray that your son cares anything for you Arthur, because if he does not return to my kingdom, he will miss your very public execution."

The duke stood appalled in the following of the king's words.

"You can't!" The man yelled, but the king was quick to interrupt him.

"Let me make this clear." His voice was dark and his eyes were mad. "What your son has done is an inexcusable offense worthy of death. Not only is he guilty of consorting with the Seelie High King but he has taken a possession most dear to me and if she is not returned..." The king turned his head away in almost painful disgust at the mere thought. The duke's eyes were wide.

Suddenly any emotion left on the king's face was wiped clean as though he were a man made of clay. He stepped away from the bars and held himself regal, tall and proud. He addressed the man again. "I will have what is due me. Your blood is guilty of consorting with the enemy and for that, you are also guilty. If your son does not return with my precious before the next full moon, you will die. But because I am merciful, your end will be a quick one. _His_ will not be so."

And with that he left the stunned man in silent darkness as he marched back down the halls and towards the nearest biggest window in the stair tower. He effortlessly changed into his owl form and flew silently into the night, a single thought repeating in his mind over and over again.

_I _will_ get her back. _

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Oberon sat beside his queen and watched the young human woman playing in the snow with Jordan and her younger brother, his very strange mixture of emotions absent from his face. He wondered if the girl was truly as ignorant as she claimed. If she truly had no idea of what it was she was truly capable of.

"Your staring." His queen's lightly berating voice cut through his silent musings. He turned to her, and saw her looking at him with a small graceful smile. Her eyes indicated the playing trio in the gardens before them.

"Are you not happy that they are finally getting along?" Titania asked, watching the young people with fondness.

Oberon turned back to the three. He was pleased that the bond between the girl and young Jordan was no longer being obstructed, but what the brewer had found in the girl's blood still weighed heavily on his mind.

The Goblin King's magic was powerful. The brewer had run all the standard tests on the magic extracted and had come to this conclusion quite easily. It wasn't surprising, it was common knowledge that he was one of the high ranking UnSeelie kings. With the power of the labyrinth behind him, how could he not be? But what had been found in Sarah's blood once her blood had been cleansed was both confusing and shocking.

He didn't want to believe that the girl had been lying to him. Didn't want to think that she had been deceitful after all he had done for her and her family, but the truth of the matter was he had no idea how to go about questioning the girl.

He had thought of dozens of different ways to start such a conversation, but they all seemed far too accusatory or excessive. He was still wary of the girl's fragile emotional state, even though she appeared to be getting better. Appeared to be recovering from both her operation and the crippling shyness that had come off the bat of her servitude in the Goblin Kingdom.

This was her first full day outside after her operation, and she seemed to be enjoying herself in Jordan's company. The snow was beginning to melt as the weather began to lighten, but the young people seemed to be enjoying themselves nonetheless. Happiness shun from all of them. As the king watched, he saw the little human boy charge at Jordan, who fell backwards in the snow with the child and began to wrestle with the young lad, pretending to loose the fight as the boy rolled around with him in the slushy grass. The human girl watched with amusement, her almost musical laughter echoing through the open space of the gardens.

"Are you worried about how she will react if you tell her what you found?" Titania asked her husband, growing a little concerned with his withdrawn demeanour.

"Not worried so much as... hesitant. What if she already knows?"

Titania looked at the human girl several yards away, now on the ground in the snow with her brother. She was the most care free the queen had ever seen her, and honestly the sight was heart-warming. She turned back to her king's troubled handsome face.

"Even if she does, you will still need to share words with her about it. It isn't the kind of thing that can be ignored, and I doubt that you would want to leave her ignorant, especially since you intend to have her and Jordan at your side while you see this cleansing of the UnSeelie to completion."

Oberon turned his body to face his queen while he mused over her logic. She spoke the truth; he knew it. He couldn't _not_ tell the girl. But honestly he didn't know what scenario would be worse. If she _did_ know, he probably wouldn't have to deal with a lot of denial and shock, but it would mean that she had been keeping pivotal knowledge from him since they met. And if she _didn't_ know, if she truly was ignorant, telling her could possibly trigger another emotional meltdown from the girl. Something he really didn't want considering how much progress she appeared to be making.

Oberon was about to answer his queen, when she nudged him ever so slightly with her shoulder and pointed her head in the direction of the castle. A lone figure was trudging hurriedly through the snow towards them, and he quickly recognized the half elven girl he had used to guard Sarah's room after her operation before the strange eyed messenger reached the bench with the two royals and curtsied.

"For you, Your Majesty. It came moments ago."

Oberon took the offered sealed scroll with a nod of acknowledgement, and quickly recognised the seal. Without a moment of hesitation, he swiftly unsealed the scroll and unravelled the parchment to read the short message imprinted there.

"What is it?" Titania questioned, following Oberon's motions as the king rose to his feet. Oberon turned to her with the aura of urgency and grief.

"It's Farwell. He's dead."


	15. Part Four - Chapter Five

**Part Four **

**Chapter Five**

The menacing rumbling snores of the sleeping dragons were the only sounds made as the twenty one armoured men crept silently forward. They moved in two lines, Peter Farwell leading both as they snuck through the once lavish ballroom. It was painstakingly quiet, each wary that a single sound made would awaken the terrible slumbering creatures.

The plan was simple; isolate and detain. Six dragons slept in different corners of the room, and all but one needed to be exterminated quickly and quietly. Only one dragon needed to be alive for the extraction of its venom, and while the fae had many powerful weapons and spells to aid them, dragons were still deadly creatures. This needed to be handled silently and with extreme care.

Farwell motioned with a raised hand that the groups of men should separate, each moving towards one of the dragons. The rows of men stepped cautiously through the piles of broken bones and animal remains littering the floor. Even through the power of the magical armour, the stench of the room was repugnant. But the groups of men did not stop, each creeping towards their designated dragons, a mission clear in their hearts.

The group of men froze as one of the slumbering Wyvern let out a sleepy growl and blew a puff of smoke from its dormant mouth before stilling once more. The collective breath of relief was almost tangible as the separate parties continued their steady pacing.

A group of four soldiers reached their dragon first, each spreading out to surround it. Though most Wyvern hunted in packs, they did not have leaders or alphas, and it was next too impossible to determine if any of these dragons were females. Still, most of these dragons were roughly the same size anyway, so they had no way of determining if any of these creatures were stronger or more powerful than the others.

The first group executed their plan perfectly. With three men all taking ready, defensive stances, the fourth drew his sword and with one fast, powerful stroke, the dragons head was lopped clean off.

The kill was silent, and the men in the room sighed in relief as the next two kills followed in quick succession. It was only when the fourth group of four men reached their dragon that the good luck of the warriors finally ended.

A cry, an ear-shattering inhuman piercing screech ripped through the night air as a huge Wyvern flew swiftly through the broken ceiling and down into the giant hall.

_There's another one!_

In one swift motion, before any of the soldiers could even react, the dragon dove towards one of the decapitated Wyvern and swiftly and violently plunged its claws and teeth straight through the armour of one of Farwell's men.

Things escalated very quickly after that.

The other three sleeping Wyvern, alerted by its brothers screech, startled into action and began spraying fire all over the soldiers. The armoured men dodged the fire and danced around the animals, drawing their swords. The dragons were circling the separated groups of men biting and snapping at them as the fae ducked around and attempted to land blows anywhere they could.

The dragon that had flown through the ceiling was busy ripping apart the body of the soldier it had killed, before moving its attention to the running yelling fae.

Farwell stared out at the chaos in panic as he dodged blows with his men. Burning fire and screams rented the air as Farwell reminded himself desperately not to forget their mission. They needed live venom. Venom was only usable outside the body of a dragon for a limited amount of time. They had been given a preservative capsule to seal the venom inside so it would be usable after the long journey home. But it would be useless coming from a dead source. The venom needed to be taken from something with a pulse, it was as simple as that, but as his eyes darted frantically over the wild anarchy the hall was in, their chances of making it to the boats with just their lives were diminishing fast.

The separated groups of men ran and parried against the flexible, dangerous creatures attacking them. One dragon let another burst of fire fly out dangerously close to Farwell, so close he had to throw himself to the ground to avoid it. His sinuses momentarily stunned, he watched through disoriented eyes as one of the dragons snagged a shoulder with its hind legs, and rose into the air with the thrashing man in a powerful beat of wings. Almost in slow motion, Farwell watched the dragon take the fae up until part of the intact ceiling stopped its progression. In one swift movement, the dragon threw the man up into the air and lashed out with its teeth as the man was falling, splitting his body clean in two.

Farwell saw red. This was getting out of hand. He had already lost two men, and the rest were tiring fast. Lunging for his fallen sword, he yelled to anyone that could hear,

"Use the stun magic!"

The soldier nearest him nodded in understanding, quickly tearing his armoured glove from his arm as his hand suddenly lit up with a bright orange glow that he threw directly into the dragon closest to him. It wasn't his magic, it had been borrowed. Created and stowed in his body for emergences. The stunning magic did its job, the dragon stopped spitting fire as the orange haze lingered around its head and fogged his brain. In one swift movement, the soldier practically launched into the air and brought his large sword down on the neck of the dragon, its head immediately separating from its long neck to roll across the floor, coming to stop next to Farwell's feet.

Four dead. They only had three dragons left, and they needed to subdue _one_ long enough to take what they needed. He would save his stunning spell for that, he decided urgently, before running after the men who were now rushing to help the other soldiers battling the last of the dragons.

Another soldier attempted to copy the first and used his stunning spell, the dragon, however, was too quick, and launched itself into the air before the magic could do any

real damage. One soldier drew out a knife from a sheath and threw it at the dragon, aiming for its chest. The dragon was still to fast as the knife penetrated its left wing instead. Its maddening screech of pain ripped through the men's eardrums as it plummeted to the ground and landed with a crash. The group of men attempted to isolate it, blocking it from any escape so someone could go in for the kill. The wounded dragon whipped its tale out, barely grazing one of the men. The vibrations as its powerful tale slamming into the marble could be felt all the way across the room as the dragon released more fire. It wasn't as hot as it had been before, and that was possibly a sign that the dragons were tiring as much as the soldiers were. With new vigour, the group of seven men, with swords raised, lunged at the dragon, piercing and cutting at any flesh they could. The dragon tried to fight but it was getting confused by how many foes it was facing, and with the knife sticking out of its wing, it could no longer fly. In one desperate attempt to defend itself, it let out a high pitched sonic blast that brought three of the men closest to it to their knees.

It was calling for help.

One of the Wyvern on the other side of the room heard the distress call of its brother and launched into the sky. It didn't fly high as the soldiers around it expected it to, but instead pulled its body into a ball and began spinning in mid-air. It was moving so fast the wind was pushing the three men surrounding the beast backwards. The fae, thinking this was its plan, charged into the vicious wind and fought their way closer to the dragon. Just as they were inches away, the dragon suddenly released itself from its ball and whipped its tale at ferocious speeds, cutting right through the centre of two soldiers armour. The other soldier jumped back in shocked horror as, agonisingly slowly, the top halves of the men separated from the bottom, their useless bodies crumbling to the ground as their blood seeped and mingled around the feet of the man.

The fae let out a roar of rage and agony as it ran right through the blood saturating the floor and raised its sword. The dragon released another burst of fire, but the warrior, seeing red, charged right through it and plunged its sword up through the jaw of the dragon with so much force the other end of the sword protruded through the creature's skull. The lifeless body spasmed and then fell to the floor with its victims; defeated.

There was no time to savour the victory. It appeared that the dragon that had flown through the ceiling had responded to the distress call of the other, and there was now sixteen men fighting around the last two remaining dragons.

_This was a disaster! _

They needed one alive, and for that to happen they needed to isolate one long enough to hold it down and have it bite into the capsule. The sixteen men dodged attacks and attempted attacks of their own, but the dragons, though outnumbered and surrounded, appeared to be taking strength from each other. The last soldier, still on fire, ran to help his comrades, feeling the fires destructive power slowly forcing its way through the magical protection of the armour. Farwell, seeing this distress, stripped his arm of armour and attempted to throw a cooling spell over the man. The timing was terrible as just as the court member drew back his hand, the wounded dragon lashed out with its teeth, sinking them into the exposed flesh of the arm.

Farwell screamed, brief and tortured as he felt the power of the creature's teeth penetrate his bone. One soldier close by drew his sword quickly down on the distracted head of the creature before its teeth could separate bone from bone. The dragon's head seemed to stay latched to Farwell's arm for moments before its teeth lost pressure and the head thudded to the blood soaked ground. This all happened in seconds, though it felt like hours as Farwell felt the pain of the poisonous venom searing his blood and piercing his bones. He could practically feel the poison rushing through his body, going straight to his heart. The escalating pain and despair consumed him as he dropped to the ground, staring brokenly at his bitten arm.

He was done for. No one had ever lived long after being poisoned by Wyvern venom. The agony was enough to distract him from the battle still being raged mere feet from him. The fae on fire had successfully been saved and the men were now hacking and stabbing at any of the creature they could reach. With Farwell momentarily distracted, and the soldiers mad with battle rage, the mission was completely forgotten as the last remaining beast snapped and clawed at any of its opponents it could reach.

The soldiers were completely exhausted, but so was the dragon, yet each fought with as much will as they had left as the group of men spread and surrounded the snarling creature. As if sensing its imminent defeat, the dragon attempted to launch itself in the air and take flight out of the holes that ripped the ceiling. Overcome with fever, one of the warriors jumped on the thing before it launched into the air, and the rest of the soldiers watched in shocked awe as the fae, who was now straddling the dragon's back, clung on for dear life as the creature thrashed and spun in the air, trying to be free of its unexpected and unwanted cargo. But the warrior held on even as the creature up-sided itself; its thin, skeletal body attempting to buck the man off like a disfigured horse. It attempted to bite and snap at the fae even as its body still wavered and shook wildly in the air, but the soldier was determined to see this creature did not escape. Grabbing hold of the scales on the Wyvern's back, he attempted to force the dragon to fly back towards the ground. Despite the dragon's strength, the weight of the soldier and his armour had the large reptile spiralling madly towards the ground, knocking into walls as it went. Still the soldier hung on as the Wyvern's body crashed into the ground. The watching spectators ran to aid their brother as the riding soldier used his weight to hold down the struggling monster thrashing and writhing underneath him.

Farwell, finally accustomed enough to the pain shooting through his system to register the chaos around him, tried to call out to them. He used his good hand in an attempt to knock the helmet from his head but found it too heavy. He yelled and pleaded as loud as he could through the shield of metal for the soldiers to remember their mission, but it was too late. As the group of fifteen men pounced on the struggling body of the Wyvern, holding the animal down as the men drew back their swords. The Wyvern, sensing its defeat, let out one last burst of fire towards the men, and it seemed instantaneous that four different swords plunged into the flesh of the thrashing creature. Farwell watched with despair as their last hope was dashed and the slaughtered dragon slowly ceased its movements. He wanted to call out to his men, tell them to hurry and extract the venom, but the pain and anguish was dragging him down fast. Dark spots began to appear in his eyes, clouding his vision as his body slumped further to the ground. The insistent ringing in his ears became increasingly louder, and the urge to give in to the pain became an impossible force to fight.

Everything went black.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

He didn't know if he was dead or alive. He heard noises, he felt pain, his flickering eyes caught flashes of light as his tired body attempted to move and attempted to sleep simultaneously. He wanted the darkness to drag him back down, away from the unpleasant invasion of his senses, but another part of his brain was urging him to open his eyes, to stay awake. There was something he was suppose to be doing. Something that needed to get done. The slowly escalating urgency allowed the man to force himself to the surface, shaking his head free of any fuzziness as he opened his eyes to meet the faces of his men. A quick glance around and he noted that they were on the boat they had came here in to begin with, and that they were in fact, sailing. A quick flash of light blinded him as he raised his hand to block out the glare of the sun, alerting his men to his awakened state.

The remaining men sat around the court member in sombre silence, their heads hung. As Farwell's memory slowly came back to him, reminding him of the horror they had all just lived through, he stared down at his left arm wrapped in soft cloth.

"We failed." One of the soldiers said. Farwell raised his despairing eyes from his death sentence to look at the soldier who had spoken. They had shed their armour, and the looks of disappointment and shame on each of their faces were all exposed and clear. Farwell slumped in his chair, returning his gaze to his bitten arm.

He could practically feel the poison slowly eating at every cell in his body. Destroying and polluting every organ and diminishing every bone that held him together.

As he stared the impact of the soldiers words pounded through his brain, practically drowning him. They had failed.

They had lost four men in a failed mission to retrieve the Wyvern venom. They had had plenty of opportunities. If they had only been faster, fought harder, if he hadn't gotten injured... they wouldn't have failed their king.

Five men, he corrected in his head sadly. _Five_. The poison inside him was destroying him, and the journey back to the Seelie kingdom wasn't exactly a short one; with any luck he wouldn't live long enough to have to see the look of disappointment on the king's face when he learned they had failed to retrieve the venom.

The venom...

"No we didn't!" Farwell said loudly, jolting himself into a sitting position, his eyes glued to his bandaged arm. The other soldiers around him looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" One man asked. "We didn't collect the venom."

"Yes we did." Farwell declared, his right arm slowly unravelling the cloth on his left, revealing the bright red bite mark that broke his skin. The marks were sharp puncture wounds, no longer bleeding, but with an edge of black around the rims that let him know clearly that they had most definitely done the damage that was intended.

"Where?" Another of the men asked, walking closer to the wounded court member.

"In me! You can take the venom out of me!" He explained, raising slightly mad eager eyes up at the faces of his bewildered men.

"But I thought the venom needed to be taken from a live Wyvern."

Farwell shook his head. "No, it needs to be taken from something with a pulse, while the venom is still active. It's still active in me. You can take it out." He explained urgently, reaching into his pocket to retrieve one of the extraction devices they had been given. The court member thanked the stars that so many of the men had used their cooling spells, and that they had been able to tire the dragons out enough to cool down the room. Had he taken his armour off his hand in its original sweltering heat, it would have burnt his flesh too quickly for the venom to stay effective. But while the venom was still in his system, working to destroy him. It could be extracted, and used.

One of Farwell's men moved to kneel before the sitting man, taking his wounded arm in his hand and examining it. The court member was right! They never would have thought to do something like that, and was extremely grateful the man had woken long enough to suggest it. Brown eyes brimming with the same excitement as the court member raised his face to Farwell's. There was victory in his eyes, but also a sadness lingering there. Farwell knew why.

"It won't save you." The soldier finally said.

Farewell slowly cast his eyes around the boats deck, meeting the gaze of every living soldier left. All their faces held admirance and loyalty. They were all very proud of the man. Farwell returned his gaze back to the soldier before him and nodded humbly.

"I know," he said quietly, "But it will give the king what he needs."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

The service was beautiful. Sarah, having only ever attended one real funeral in her life, (her father's mother had died when her parents were still together, and she had been around nine at the time,) was compelled to pay strict attention to the way fae celebrated death. Being creatures with virtual immortality, a natural death of a fae was not something that happened often, however, it was not a natural death that the kingdom was mourning. At nine a.m almost every fae in occupancy in Oberon's kingdom were standing in rows watching five fae graves being committed to the earth. Peter Farwell's mission for his king may have been successful, but it had also come at a cost.

Sarah stood with her family and Jordan near the back of the service, listening to Oberon's speech. He congratulated the men for having died with honour and praised what brave warriors they were, and how they would never be forgotten. Though he delivered this speech with an air of recital, as though he had practised it dozens of times before, he still sounded sincere when he addressed the families of the fallen men standing in the front row, and honoured the families with titles for the dead men whose tombstones were placed in the ground much the same as human funerals.

Sarah did, however, recognise some differences in the way fae and human funerals worked. For one, the fae did not have priests. The man to deliver the service was in fact the same man who had preformed the operation on Sarah a few days previous. The brewer lit candles and preformed a chant to commemorate the separating of the fae's spirits from their bodies, even though Farwell's was the only body that had returned.

Sarah's father, much like his daughter, was paying attention to the proceedings, but more out of polite interest than anything else. His gaze kept drifting away from the main ceremony where the brewer stood on a platform preforming spells over five grand caskets. He looked down at his son frequently, making sure the well dressed young lad was behaving, but Toby was watching the brewer preform the service with as much rapt attention as his sister. Robert almost shook his head at the absurdity. He had never believed in magic. Not even when he was young, for his father had been adamant never to encourage such 'silly fantasies.' And now here he stood, watching five men who had died fighting dragons be laid to rest in an almost medieval ritual. His gaze drifted casually, attention fading, and was almost struck with shock as his eyes made contact with someone staring right at him. The face of the fae was twisted in contempt and hate as it stared in the direction of his family, but it was only a fleeting glance, and when Robert looked back the face was gone. Unable to pin-point where he thought he had seen the person standing, Robert let it go, dismissing it as his own imagination.

Soon the ritual was complete, and as the five caskets were lowered into the ground every fae in the area began to sing a fae song. The Williams family stayed silent, not knowing the words and only listened as the fae bid farewell to the fallen men.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

The crowd had dispersed into the feasting halls not long after the funeral had ended, and before Sarah knew it the day was drawing to a close. The main celebrations were beginning to disperse when the sun finally set outside the dining halls large windows, and Sarah could not believe how fast it had all flown by. She supposed that had she been mourning with any of the fae who had known the fallen soldiers or the dead court member, it would have seemed a lot longer. But as it was, the large hall was already starting to clear out before Sarah even noticed just how late in the evening it really was. Her parents had retired to their rooms with Toby a few hours before, wanting to settle him down early before all the drinking started. It really was amazing to Sarah just how similar mourning rituals were here to that of her world. Men and women alike had been drinking and toasting to the fallen heroes for the past two hours. Not to mention the praise that was being delivered on the soldiers who had actually managed to make it back alive. She had heard that hymns were already being sung of both the living and the dead party, and could only shake her head at the customs, both the odd and the familiar.

She hadn't really wanted to stay without her family around her but felt she had an obligation to. What these soldiers had died for was of concern to her as much as it was to anyone else, and so she felt that she should at least stay long enough to pay her respect to the grieving families.

It was strange the way she felt, standing before a group of complete strangers expressing sympathy. It was an odd feeling of normalcy despite the unfamiliarity with the situation at hand. She was talking to people. She was _approaching_ people.

She felt that she was finally starting to recover some of the shattered pieces of herself, and she couldn't have been more grateful.

When the drinking had began to get heavier, however, she had politely dismissed herself from the celebrations, never having been all that fond of alcohol anyway. She spared a short moment to check in on her family, who were all still sleeping in the same room they had all shared the first night they had arrived. Sarah had consented to keep the room she had been resting in during her recovery only because she didn't want to smother them. Though a years worth of longing made her want to hold on to them so tightly they never let her go, she knew if she ever wanted to recover any kind of normalcy in her life, she needed to start behaving more as she had before she had been taken. One step at a time.

After satisfying herself that her family was down and safe for the night, she retreated a few doors down to her own room.

The second she sat down on the bed the exhaustion of the day started to register. Even though she had done practically nothing all day, she felt completely drained. A consequence of a funeral she supposed. Death always had the tendency to sap the energy out of anyone, even if she hadn't known the people who were being mourned.

She had only just removed her shoes and coat jacket before there was a sudden knock at the door. Sarah raised her head to it, surprised.

_Who could that be?_ She thought as she dragged herself to the door. Her energy was draining fast, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

She pulled the door open and was met with the strange eyed dark skinned messenger who had been guarding her door when she had first awoken after her procedure. Before she could utter one single word, the girl spoke.

"The king has requested an audience with you in his study." The girl said. Sarah's eyes immediately went wide at the pronouncement. It was past midnight. What possible use could the king have for her at this hour?

"Now?" She asked the girl hesitantly.

The dark skinned messenger huffed in agitation. "Yes, now." She said in an impatient, condescending tone.

Sarah almost groaned. She was too tired and drained for the kind of intense conversations she had come to expect whenever she spoke to the king, but she also knew that she was in no position to defy a summons from him. Nor did she have any real desire to do so. The king had given her back her freedom, and had not made any major demands of her for anything in return. She owed him everything; the least she could do was adhere to his requests.

Giving the girl a quick nod, she retreated into her room only a moment to retrieve her shoes and pull the cardigan back over her arms, relieved that she hadn't changed into her nightclothes already.

Sarah began walking down the castle halls with the girl, silently wondering what exactly she was. She had never seen any fae in the underground with purple eyes before, but thought it a little rude to ask, so decided to settle another curiosity.

"Did the king say why he needed me?" She asked the girl she was walking besides. She sensed a kind of odd tension lingering in the air around them, the silence between them charged instead of comfortable. The girl shook her head.

"It wasn't my place to ask." She told her shortly, and retreated into silence. For some reason Sarah got the feeling that the girl was unwilling to share words with her. _Fine_, she thought with a half shrug, and let the girl lead her through the castle wordlessly.

It wasn't long before the two women arrived at the study. Sarah turned to thank the girl for leading the way, when she suddenly spoke.

"Do you think you're worthy?" She inquired out of nowhere. Sarah looked at her in bewilderment at the question.

"Worthy?" Sarah repeated, sounding confused.

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Of the attention you and your family are receiving. Do you think you are worthy?"

Wide green eyes stared blankly into piercing purple.

"I don't think it has anything to do with being worthy." Sarah said the first thing that came to mind, "The king wants us here, so we're here. That's all I know."

The dark skinned girl regarded the human before her with well disguised disdain.

"I'm not surprised that's all you know." She said flatly, and turned her back to stroll down the hallway before Sarah could think of a retort. Taken slightly aback by the girl's rudeness, she was about to call out to her before she felt something twinge in her stomach. A deep and very sudden kind of anxiety that appeared out of nowhere and gnawed at her insides as she looked at the door before her. It was Oberon's office door, she remembered it so, but something felt off. Why would the king summon her here at such an hour? Why not wait until morning? Her hand froze in its half raised state, as the uneasiness only grew. She kept telling herself that she was being absurd, but she knew the way it felt to fear. She knew it. Her time in this kingdom may have been wonderful and freeing, but she would have to be a fool to forget one whole year of training on how to recognise when you were in danger. It was like uncomfortable corrosive pressure was bubbling in her stomach, making her dizzy and sick. Something was wrong. Something was _very_ wrong. She recognised this feeling, dimly, as the instinct to run. She had only given in to such an instinct once and had faced dire consequences for it, and ever since, had expelled the need from her system. But the feeling refused to cease.

Sarah, inexplicably even to herself, took a step away from the door, and lowered her hand from the knocking position, her face twisting in concern and alarm. She took another step back and another, intending to flee straight back down the hallway, when her body half turned and bumped into an unfamiliar figures chest. She jumped back and stared fearfully up into the grinning face of a man she had never seen before, who, before she could react, reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back into him.

"And just where do you think you're going?" He inquired with sick sardonic amusement, before stretching out his arm to knock twice on the wooden door.

Sarah struggled futility against the man's tight hold as another complete stranger emerged from the king's office. It was a woman this time, who matched the man holding Sarah tightly right down to the sickening leer on her face.

Sarah opened her mouth to scream as the feeling of danger pounded in her head viciously. Just as suddenly she felt the man's hand collide with her mouth, trapping the cry of fear inside.

"His majesty _will_ be pleased." The woman purred in a haughty tone, and just as Sarah's panicked brain fully comprehended just who the woman was talking about, did she feel the last bit of remaining strength sap from her like water flowing down a drain. Her final attempts at struggling ended as she sagged against her captor's chest, unconscious.

* * *

**End of Part Four. If you didn't like the dragon battle I would like to apologise. I was never really good at writing action, but due to demands from insistent readers I gave it my best, though it took a while to string it all together. Thank you to all the readers who take the time to review and share their thoughts and feelings with me. Much obliged. I think the end of this story may be approaching soon though, so frowny face, but the ending will be filled with as much awesomeness as the previous chapters. In any case, part five should begin soon, so look out for my next update. Until then, laters. **


	16. Part Five - Chapter One

****Part Five ****

****Chapter One****

_"You should be socialising, not skulking." Came the voice of Oberon's older brother Zoreion in his left ear. Oberon turned away, uninterested in his brother's advice. He was perfectly content to just stand off to the side and watch the feasting and dancing and celebrating happen without his involvement._

_He wasn't in the mood for celebrating. He hated coming here. The only thing on his mind was his desire to return home, sleep in his own room, and be with all of his friends who hadn't been deemed 'worthy' enough to have been invited. He even missed his tutor, Roderick, and to think on the absurdity of that, he knew he must have been pretty far gone._

_Of course, his older brother completely ignored his obvious body language that practically screamed 'GO AWAY,' and walked around to stand right in front of him. "Did you hear me?" He questioned, his tone mockingly peeved. __Oberon reluctantly raised his head to look up into the face of his older brother. _

_They were very much alike in some ways; the same dark black hair, the same light eyes, the same bold, attractive features, but, of course, the differences were all anyone ever saw. Zoreion was older, and was beginning to show the progressive signs of his age. He had well trimmed black stubble covering his chin and top lip. His dark hair was longer than Oberon's; long enough to be pulled back into a ponytail, though it was down over his shoulders tonight. The midnight blue suit he wore showed off the tone and muscles of his advancing maturity and he was obviously a lot taller. From behind his back, Oberon caught sight of a few young maidens looking in their direction and giggling foolishly. He almost gagged. He knew the girl's attentions were all for Zoreion. He felt like a complete runt standing next to his brother._

_Not receiving an answer, Zoreion swiftly punched him in his right shoulder._

_"Hey!" Oberon objected. Zoreion was of course, stronger than him as well. He was a great many things better than him._

_"Than don't ignore me." Zoreion responded, his earlier fake consternation melting away into a superior smirk._

_Oberon rubbed his sore shoulder and glared. "Don't you have someone else you can bother? Those girls over there haven't stopped staring at you all night. Go talk to them." He said annoyed._

_Zoreion gave a small chuckle at his brother's words, turning only minutely to spot the group of girls in question. Seeing him cast his gaze their way, the girls immediately pretended not to notice him, but started playing with their hair and preening in a way that let the young man know they were trying to get his attention._

_Oberon made to subtly walk away while his brother was distracted, but Zoreion, of course, stopped him. "Nice try baby brother. Their girls. Girls always stare. Especially at princes. If you'd stop acting like some kind of sullen child they might start looking at you that way too."_

_Oberon ever so elegantly rolled his eyes._

_"Oh please. You're first in line for the throne Zoro, who would pay attention to_ me _with_ you _around?"_

_Zoreion's smile, ever present on his maturing face, turned a little more sinister at Oberon's biting words. "Why brother, are you telling me you've got your eye on someone?" He asked sneakily._

_Oberon's face turned an involuntary bright red causing Zoreion to let out a laud bark of laughter._

_"Don't!" Oberon protested urgently. "People are looking."_

_Zoreion continued to chuckle, "Including your mystery girl? Come on, who is she? Point her out." He insisted, casting his eyes around the hall in an attempt to find the girl. Oberon tried not to look, but like a magnet, his eyes were involuntarily drawn to the female in question. He looked away the second his brother's eyes were on him again, but it was too late, Zoreion had caught him staring and snapped his eyes in the direction of his gaze. _

_The girl stood plainly in view, standing amongst a group of young people all roughly the same age as the two boys. Her body was turned slightly to the left as she was speaking to someone, but she was still very noticeable. _

_She was beautiful, with long blond hair pulled away from her face and fixed in a complicated, intricate fashion. Light freckles dotted her alabaster skin, and the becoming gown of light organza pink wrapped enticingly around her waist before flowing down her body like smoothly running water. Oberon couldn't help but blush harder as his brother's gaze locked on the girl._

_"That's her right? The one in the pink?" Zoreion asked, his tone appreciative of the beauty before him. Oberon felt a sudden sharp jab of jealousy and panic at his brother's tone. He couldn't let him take a fancy to her, he just couldn't!_

_"What's her name?" Zoreion asked, his gaze still fixed on the young beauty. Oberon looked at the ground and mumbled, "Titania."_

_Zoreion let his eyes linger over the girl for several more moments before turning slyly back to his younger sibling._

_"Looks like you may have some competition there little brother."_

_Oberon's eyes snapped up in a second, anger and embarrassment made him splutter a response._

_"No, don't! Just because I like her doesn't mean that you can just... you could have any girl you... Zoreion_ please _don't." He begged disparagingly. If his brother started to get moon eyes over the girl he liked, he knew he wouldn't stand a chance!_

_Zoreion chuckled again, loudly. Loud enough to draw the attention of several people standing close by them. Oberon could have fried an egg on his face it was so burning red, but his brother simply shook his head._

_"Relax Obi, I would never go after my brother's game, at least not until you were a few hundred years older. Besides, I wasn't even talking_ _about_ __me__, __I__ _was talking about the mop of long blond your girl is currently conversing with."_

_Oberon's gaze immediately snapped back to the small group. He had had his eyes on the girl all night, but hadn't worked up the nerve to go and speak to her yet. It was why he had been so sullen all evening. He hadn't even noticed that the girl was talking to another boy, and the fact only made him go a deeper shade of red. Even though his back was turned towards them, Oberon could plainly see who it was talking to her._

"__Jareth__." _He said the name like poison._

_Zoreion could not suppress the smirk. "The reason why mother keeps insisting I use the castle barbers on staff. I think she's afraid I might follow his example._ _You just_ know _he has to do that by himself, I mean_ look _at that_ monstrosity_!" He laughed._

_Oberon couldn't help but be a tiny bit comforted by his brother's words. Jareth's hairstyle was eccentric, even by fae standards. Those long jagged uneven cuts with layers at the top. He must have had the cut done recently, for he had not been adorning such a mess of hair the first time they had met, at Zoreion's own coronation ball. Practically everyone who was anyone had been invited to celebrate the oldest prince coming of age and being able to succeed his father on the throne. Oberon had only shared a few short words with Jareth, but had found he hadn't liked him at all. Oberon himself had been twelve hundred at the time, and though Jareth was only a few hundred years his senior, the way he had talked down to him would have led anyone to assume he was talking to an infant. Or a mortal._

_Still though, his arrogant rudeness and his '___monstrosity___' of a hairstyle hadn't stopped girls from fawning all over him all night. But, then again, just like his brother, he was a prince first in line for the throne. They always got all the attention._

_"You should ask her to dance." Zoreion's smug voice suddenly cut through his musings, and his eyes once again rose to his brothers smiling face._

_"Are you _insane_?!" He squeaked._

_Zoreion's grin was about to brake his face. "No brother. That's what you do when you like a girl, you_ talk _to them. You have to go and defend your territory. How would you feel if you did nothing and the girl you like became future Goblin Queen-pain-in-the-ass?"_

_Oberon both blanched and smiled at that comment. He liked his brother only minutely better for his clear declaration that __neither__ one of them thought much of the Goblin Prince, or indeed, any of the princes or fae that had came from UnSeelie territories to celebrate tonight. Though the kingdom of Tenebris was technically neutral territories, it was always defined as a Seelie kingdom. This island shared both Seelie and UnSeelie kingdoms, much closer together then any of their kingdoms back home. King Aurum hosted an annual congregation in his kingdom every year, where any of the most powerful Seelie and UnSeelie families would come to stay for a small court visit. They had been here little over four days, and would be leaving in another four. His father was here too, as well as several other high ranking Seelie members in their kingdom and in others surrounding them. Titania was the daughter of a duke, a very powerful one in a kingdom close to theirs. She had been brought along for courtly visits sometimes, but he had never had the nerve to talk to her. Now he was watching her talk to that complete ass and all he wanted to do was run over there, grab her hand and steal her away._

_"Go on; go ask her, I bet she'd be grateful that someone was paying enough attention to rescue her from her current predicament." Zoreion said._

_Oberon's eyes turned confused as he looked back towards the small group. Titania didn't look at all intimidated. He didn't understand his brother's words._

_"She seems to be enjoying herself just fine." He grumbled sullenly, looking down at the elegant marble floor._

_Zoreion punched him in the arm again._

_"You need to learn how to read girls better little Obi," His older brother scolded, shaking his head mockingly. "Look at her face, seriously! That is the face of a girl who desperately wants to escape a conversation but is too polite to say anything. If you go over and ask her to dance, you'd be her knight in shining armour, and trust me, girls_ love _that stuff." He said with surety._

_Oberon shuffled in place and stared a hole into his well polished shiny black shoes. While he was never one to take his brother's advice on anything,_ __ever__, _he couldn't deny that his words made a kind of sense. He had never had the nerve to talk to her before, and now was the perfect opportunity. If his brother was right, she would jump on the chance to dance if it meant getting away from prince goblin-pain-in-the-ass. He raised his head slowly to look back at the girl, and could now kind-of see what his brother was talking about. While there was a smile gracing her soft features, her eyes were straying, and her top lip was twitching as though she was attempting to find an opening to say something, but kept getting overtaken. Zoreion was right. Though he internally gagged at the admittance, his brother was_ __right___._

Ask her to dance. That's all, just one dance.

_Mind made up, Oberon gave a distracted nod in the direction of his brother and began to shuffle over to the small group of people. His eyes never left Titania's face as he walked slowly across the ballroom floor. He walked steadily, though his legs were starting to quake the closer he got to the object of his desire._ I can do this. I can do this. _His confidence was slowly building as he got inches closer._ No turning back, just ask her to dance. You can do this!

_His chest puffed out and his head lifted, regal and straight, wanting to look confident in front of not just Titania but Jareth and his friends as well._

_He was beginning to feel like he could really achieve his goal, and just when he was mere inches away, was he frozen in place as another young girl roughly his brothers age appeared out of nowhere and tapped on Titania's shoulder._

_"Excuse me, Your Majesty's," She said politely, addressing Jareth's little group of royal friends, "But I am going to have to steal her away for the moment. I'm afraid mother wants us. Come with me?" The girl asked Titania with a burningly insistent knowing look. Titania's shoulders sagged ever so minutely as she replied, "Of course." Looking back at the gathered princes she put on her sweetest smile and said, "It's been lovely speaking with you but if you'll please excuse me?" And wasting absolutely no time to receive a response, the girl practically jogged across the ballroom floor with her sister and away from the group of young men. And him._

_Oberon's body stayed stuck in a shocked state. Just as suddenly as his confidence had come, it completely disintegrated. His shoulders sagged and his body deflated as he cursed in his head at the stolen opportunity. He mistakenly looked back to where Zoreion was last, to see his older brother practically shaking in his effort not to laugh at him. Angrily, Oberon turned away, with the full intention of just leaving the ballroom, finding some hole and hiding in it for the rest of forever._

_He was about to put his brilliant plan into full execution when the group of boys started talking again. They were in a tightly knitted group, so none of them saw Oberon, and he was suddenly compelled to stick around, just long enough to hear if Jareth would say anything about the girl they had just been sharing words with. He pretended to be very interested in a piece of art work hanging on the wall in front of him as he inched himself closer, hopping from one foot to the other and letting his gaze drift over the intricate scenery of the ballroom to mask eavesdropping on the UnSeelie fae's conversation._

_"... father's about ready to execute all the little imbeciles. Dwarfs are such cowardly, repulsive little scabs." One of the princes sneered with disdain._

_Oberon perked his ears when he heard Jareth's annoying drawling silky voice._

_"You should try ruling goblins. Father had me handle a few case disputes during court last month. Petty little vermin, all of them. I don't know why father insists on changing wished away children into goblins when there are already so many."_

_One of the other boys, Oberon thought his name was Steven, scoffed and said, "What else would you have him do with mortal brats. It's not like their actually _good _for anything."_

_There was a murmur of approval from the small group of boys. Oberon rolled his eyes at their attitude but listened for Jareth's reply._

_He sighed, "I guess you're right. I mean, I know it's his obligation as the ruling monarch, but I cannot believe how much time and energy father wastes on humans. All the runners that wish away children fail, and yet he always watches them and toys with them, and tries to impede them. I don't know why he bothers. It's not as though a human would ever actually succeed, most give up after only a few hours, their so useless. When_ I _am king, I do not intend to waste even a moment of my time on any of those worthless creatures."_

_Oberon almost gagged on how much bumptious rubbish was spewing from the boy's mouth; he made himself sound so superior and important. He was about to walk away, having had enough of the self loving royalty for another hundred years, when something else peaked his interest._

_"... Scholars say they detect another change may be __occurring__ soon. They keep telling father about the stars or the planets aligning or other such nonsense, but they say they are anticipating another time shift before long." Jareth told his friends._

_Oberon's forehead furrowed in confusion. Another time shift? He had thought it was impossible to anticipate the time shifts. The last had happened before he was even born, but because it held no real relevance to the Underground, most scholars didn't really bother themselves trying to crack the mystery. One of the boys in Jareth's group seemed to share Oberon's view and asked in a dismissive tone. "How is_ __that__ _important? The time shifts only change the way this world correlates with the human one. And besides, I thought you couldn't predict it. I thought it was just a random occurrence."_

_Out of the corner of his eye Oberon thought he saw Jareth straighten his coat impressively, saying, "The scholars in my kingdom think it has something to do with the labyrinth. Their always telling father the labyrinth has more power than even ___he___ knows. Though they won't tell us exactly_ what _that power is supposed to be. Maybe that's why father pays so much attention to the mortal runners, he's just making sure the little idiots don't break anything important."_

_Oberon had heard enough. Listening to Jareth talk was like listening to nails on a chalkboard. The insufferable little_ __weasel__. _Seelie may look down on humans much as UnSeelie did, but they were also taught to appreciate what the race had achieved without magic, what they continued to achieve._

_Oberon walked away as subtly as he could, not wanting to be caught for his transgression, and retreated to the other side of the hall. By now, the evening was beginning to wind down. It was coming close to midnight and the last few dances were being announced. Though his father would probably reproach him for not having been social enough, it was really Zoreion's social status he cared about. He cast his eyes around the hall in search for his brother, and found him near the edge of the dance floor, waltzing with one of the giggling noblewomen he had seen staring at him earlier. He rolled his eyes. He got a little satisfaction that father would insist upon his brother taking a bride soon before or soon after he became king, and could only imagine how his brother would fare in an actual courting situation._

_While spinning the girl in the circle, Zoreion caught him staring. He smirked at him, and gestured with his head to the left of the hall. Oberon followed his gaze and saw Titania standing near the feast table looking like she didn't know quite what to do with herself. Oberon snapped his eyes back at his brother who winked encouragingly before spinning the happy princess away._

_Oberon gulped._ Now or never_, he thought._

_Quickly he made his way over to the feast table where the girl in pretty pink stood. He could feel himself beginning to sweat before he was even five yards away, and quickly plucked a napkin from the table he was skimming across to pat himself down with before he was suddenly right next to the girl. She was staring out at the large hall watching the graceful and well-practised dance being preformed with an odd expression on her face; maybe, perhaps, wishful?_

_Taking dance lessons was compulsory for both himself and Zoreion. But just like with sword fighting and horseback riding, Zoreion had mastered the activities instantly while Oberon had struggled. The only thing Oberon seemed to excel his brother in was his studies. Oberon was far better at learning the history of the Underground and remembering important facts about royal families and court etiquette than Zoreion had ever been. But Zoreion never showed any real interest in any of the more intellectual parts of his learning's, and always brushed their parents scolding off like he thought he was too good for it. And, Oberon had to begrudgingly admit, he probably was._

_Still, while he would never be able to beat his brother in competition, he _was_ a decent dancer, and he hoped that if he just worked up the courage to ask her, it wouldn't be a_ __complete__ _disaster. He was staring holes into the entrées and sweet meats that littered the table, pretending to be interested in them while his eyes kept straying to the beauty beside him._

Say something. Say something!

_Oberon opened his mouth and forced himself to speak, unfortunately in his desperation, the first words out of his mouth were, "These crab cakes are really good."_

_Titania turned to face him with surprised wide hazel eyes as Oberon's face blushed in complete mortification._

Crab cakes?! Seriously?!

_The silence that followed was so awkward Oberon was tempted to simply turn on his heel and walk right back the way he came, but she was already looking at him, her head tilted slightly, her wide eyes searching his face. If he didn't say something fast, he'd loose his chance._

_"It's a wonderful celebration isn't it?" He tried again, although this time he was worried that he had spoken too quietly, and that she might not have even heard him. He turned straight to ask her again; when he realized her eyes were right on him._

_"I'm sorry, were you talking to me?" She asked._

_She sounded like an angel._

_Like bells and whistles and wind blowing gently through high grass. The boy swallowed._

_"... Yes." He muttered, embarrassed. _

You can do this, just talk to her. Get comfortable. She hasn't run screaming yet. You can do this!

_Her eyes scanned him up and down before she asked, "You're prince Oberon right? Of the Seelie High Kingdom?"_

_Birds could have lifted him and floated him away on a cloud with the happiness and pleasure that shot through him at that moment._ She knows my name! She knows my name!

_"Yes, that's me." He replied, attempting to casually lean back against the table in his best imitation of nonchalance. "Like I was saying, it's a really nice ball, don't you think?" He asked in what he hoped was a confident tone._

_The light smile suddenly dropped from the girl's face and she grazed her bottom lip with her top teeth. Finally, she turned away from him, facing her body straight ahead. "Certainly." She said tightly._

_Oberon's mind seemed to freeze stiff as a board. Of all the ways he had been planning the conversation to go, he hadn't expected _that_. She sounded so… disinterested, almost resentful, like she had wanted to say something completely different, but had settled for a routine response instead._

_He looked back at the girl and found she was once again staring out at the ballroom, but now he recognised the expression she had held before he had walked over to her. It wasn't wistfulness, it was disdain. In that moment she looked like she would rather be anywhere but here, and it was than he realised that they might have actually had something in common after all._

_"Really?" He asked, again attempting a casual manner. "Why don't you tell me what you really think."_

_The girl's eyes switched to his again, wide and almost disbelieving. Oberon attempted to plaster a smirk on his face, the smirk he was so used to adorning his older brother, but was to nervous to really pull it off. Instead, it only looked like a weak little grimace._

_"I don't know what you mean, Your Majesty." The girl said, throwing her shoulders back in an effort to appear poised. Oberon recognised the movement with joy. So, he wasn't the only one hiding how they felt._

_"I think you do." He told her, the smirk a little more defined. "And my name is Oberon, remember?"_

_Titania's eye twitched, like she was attempting to prevent her eyes from rolling. "My father always taught me to be respectful to others, particularly those of higher rank_ Your Majesty,"_ she stressed the title forcefully. "I am wise enough to heed his advice."_

_The smile immediately dropped from Oberon's face, as he stared at the girl with renewed interest. He had never had a real conversation with her, he had never even been able to summon enough will power to respond to the casual words she spoke when they had met randomly in his kingdom. And he knew how completely pathetic he was to be unable to respond to a simple, 'good morning,' or 'excuse me,' but it occurred to him now that this girl may indeed be more than just her pretty face._

Of course she is_, he thought proudly. Of course the girl he liked would be better than any girl, say, Zoreion would ever try to court. Even though he wasn't stupid to believe that all the girls Zoreion surrounded himself with were actually as dense as they pretended to be, the girl before him wasn't even acting like that. She chose silence over pretence, and he honestly thought that made her __infinitely__ better._

_He was suddenly compelled to encourage her honesty._

_"Interesting. I am assuming your father also taught you how discourteous it is to lie?"_

_Big brown eyes refocused on the prince with shock._

_"I didn't lie!" The girl defended._

_Oberon's smile was smug. "Yes you did. I asked you what you thought of the ball, I asked you if you thought it was nice, and you said, 'certainly' even though it is quite obvious that that is not what you really believe, so, technically, you did lie."_

_"_ Technically_," the girl stressed the word a little snidely, "you asked me to agree with you. You said ' it's a really nice ball, don't you think.' Had I said anything to the contrary, it would have been disrespectful to your opinion. So_ technically_, I only gave you the answer you were expecting, because you were clearly expecting me to agree."_

_Oberon blinked. The girl turned away from him, her body language he recognised as his normal preference. She didn't want to talk. She wanted to be left alone._

No way_, he thought._

_"You're wrong." He replied, just as forcefully. She wanted to spar, spar he would._

_The comment did its job, she turned back to him. "About what?"_

_"I didn't ask you if you thought the ball was nice so you would agree, I asked you because I wanted to know your opinion. I want to know what you think._

_The girl looked a little taken aback, but the surprise was quickly followed by narrowed suspicious eyes. She looked him up and down, and Oberon held his breath under such scrutiny, wondering what was going on in that head of hers. Finally, she spoke again._

_"Why would you care what I think?" She inquired sceptically._

_Oberon smiled a small smile. _If only she knew...

_"I just do. You didn't look as though you were particularly enjoying yourself standing here all alone. I just wanted to know... why."_

_Titania looked at the prince with sharp, narrowed eyes, and Oberon guessed that it was perhaps because she was assessing whether or not she could trust him. After a moment of two of silence between them, she let out a noise Oberon could only describe as a scoff and said, "I think it's all over-exaggerated. I don't see_ why _they have to make Seelie and UnSeelie gatherings into such a production. I didn't even_ __want__ _to come here. I_ hate _court gatherings, but father wouldn't let me stay in our kingdom by myself. So, here I am, in_ __this__ _stupid thing," she gestured to her gown, "with my hair so tight it feels like someone might as well be squeezing my forehead for juice. If I had ___my__ _way, I'd just be curled up on a chair in the corner reading a book." She ranted._

_Oberon stared in absolute bewilderment. He had never heard a girl speak so forcefully before, much less to him. And now that he thought about it, she did look different from how he had seen her a few times before. Her hair was almost always down or in a simple style, and while he had seen her in gowns before, they to had been of a simpler design. Oberon looked the girl from head to toe and said the first thing that came to mind._

_"I think you look wonderful." He admitted with a touch of confusion._

_Titania looked down at her gown with barely concealed disgust. "It's pink. I_ hate _pink!"_ _She growled._

_Suddenly and completely without meaning to, Oberon laughed. Titania's surprised eyes suddenly turned offended as she looked at the boy laughing at her. She made to scoff and walk away when Oberon quickly recovered, "No don't go, it's just... I..." He tried to get his breathing under control as the girl crossed her arms across her chest and looked down her nose at him much as an irritated parent would._

_"What's funny?!" The girl demanded, staring angrily at the prince._

_"It's just... I... I feel... exactly the same way." Oberon said between chuckles._

_The girl's demeanour suddenly turned into surprised shock as Oberon's laughter subsided. He smiled genuinely at the girl before speaking again._

_"I hate coming here as well. In fact, before we started talking I was considering stealing one of the boats off the dock and sailing it home on my own." He confided, amused._

_The girl stared suspiciously at him before, miraculously, on her face broke a small, genuine smile._

_"You know how to sail?"_

_Oberon shook his head, still brimming with amusement. "No, but even if I ended up stranded in the middle of the sea, at least I wouldn't be_ here_." He spread his arm, indicating the large, crowded ballroom._

_The girl's face lit into an easy grin. "I could probably help with that, unless you'd mind a stowaway in your escape plan." She said._

_Oberon looked like a man who had been handed the world. _

_"Not at all, I'd appreciate the company." He told her, smiling to the point of pain._

_Oberon had never felt so genuinely happy in all is life. For once, he had met someone who seemed more like him then even he could have anticipated. It was true that his little infatuation had spawned from only ever staring at the girl from afar, but now he was talking to her, seeing little glimpses of who she really was without the mask of etiquette most girls he had met seemed to wear. They had only been speaking for around three minutes, but Oberon found he now liked her ten times as much._

_The fact that he now knew just how much in common they really did have, his confidence soared. The words, 'would you like to dance,' were on the tip of his tongue, when suddenly, out of nowhere, someone screamed._

_It was a loud shrill high pitched screech of despair and panic that brought the orchestra playing a waltz to a screeching halt. Every face, including his own, snapped in the direction the sound had come from, as who ever was doing the screaming, screamed again. The words, "help! Somebody please!" Cut through the sudden silence like a razor sharp knife through butter. The genuine hysterical panic in the voice had everyone rushing towards it within moments. Oberon followed, subconsciously taking Titania's hand and pulling her with him. They practically had to wrestle the group of fae pouring towards one of the doors that led to a small courtyard off the ballroom. It was night by now, though the courtyard was covered in tiny little lights that lit the area softly as dozens of fae crowded the scene. Oberon heard gasps and crying coming from the __crowd__, and was desperate to know what everyone in front of them was looking at. Then, suddenly, he heard someone loudly exclaim. "Its prince Zoreion!"_

_Oberon's eyes went wider than the moon as panic started to bubble in his stomach._

_"What?!" He cried out. "What happened to my brother?!" Some people in the crowd looked behind them to see him standing there, and it seemed immediate that Oberon began pushing his way through the groups of fae gathering around whatever everyone was finding so shocking. He began to call his brother's name, over and over, as he pushed his way to the front of the line. People began parting for him, and the look of despair and sympathy on some of the faces he saw made him run the remaining short distance between himself and the centre of whatever everyone was so focused on. He heard a heavy pounding in his head as the last few people parted ways to let him through, and what he saw when he reached the centre of the courtyard made him scream._

_His brother, lying lifeless on the ground, a knife sticking out of the centre of his chest, his eyes open, but completely unseeing. Lifeless._

_The pounding in his head got harder and harder and louder and louder as he screamed and screamed in __anguish __and despair. A sense of violent shaking on his right shoulder was the last thing he felt before the boy, now a great king, woke with a start._

Oberon jolted awake in his royal bedchamber at the feeling of real shaking on his right shoulder. At the slightest whim, the room suddenly burst with light as he saw his queen was the one shaking him awake. He stared back into her concerned face as the pounding in his head only grew more defined. As he lifted himself from his sleepy haze he realised the pounding was actually knocking. Loud and frantic knocking coming from their bedchamber door.

"Enter." He wheezed, and had to clear his throat as he realised that his face was wet with tears he must have been shedding in his sleep. "Come in!" He repeated, more forcefully this time, and it seemed almost immediate that the door burst open and young Jordan stumbled in, followed by the two guards who normally stood outside their chamber door at night.

"Jordan?" The king demanded foggily, "What are you..?"

Jordan didn't give him the time to finish. His face was panicked and desperate as he practically yelled at the royal, "Sarah's gone!"

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Sarah woke to the feeling of fast, rough rocking. She felt like she was in a washing machine, being spun around and bumped up and down from where she lay. Fighting through the haze of unconsciousness she came to the conclusion that she really shouldn't have been rocking in her bed. The feeling that something was just not right pounded through her mind and forced her to pull herself out of the fog of sleep and pay attention. She almost cried out in panic when she forced her eyes to open and took in her surroundings. She was in, what looked like, a small wooden box. She was lying on the floor, and her attempts to force herself up were thwarted when she realised that her arms and legs were both bound. She struggled furiously as the memories of last night flooded her mind.

__Oh my god, I was kidnapped!__

She remembered feeling that something was deeply wrong. She remembered the man capturing her and holding her thrashing body tightly to his. She remembered that strange woman who had emerged from Oberon's office.

'His majesty __will__ be pleased,' she had said.

__His majesty… did she mean..? Oh no, they must work for Jareth!__

__No!__ She mentally screamed, __no! I can't go back! Please don't make me go back!__ Her mind screamed and screamed as she thrashed and struggled against the bindings. She was gagged to, she soon realised, but that didn't stop her from trying to make as much noise as possible, hoping someone, __anyone__, would hear her.

She kicked and writhed and flailed and beat her body around the wooden floor she was laying on, the knowledge that the floor was in fact moving seemed to force its way through her panic as she noticed a small little window above her head. Was she in… perhaps… a carriage? From where she was laying, she could see the blurring tops of trees through the window. The scenery racing past her at a speed that let her know they were moving incredibly fast.

Moving towards Jareth.

Her mind kept wailing and begging as she battled against the ropes restraining her. __No! I can't go back, please, somebody help me! __She internally yelled, not knowing and not caring who was supposed to hear her. No one had ever answered her pleas for help before, but she kept trying and she kept fighting until she felt the carriage come to a sudden, violent stop. Her body rolled and banged into one of the wooden benches at the abrupt halt.

__No! No no no no no! Please no!__

She couldn't! She could not go through this again! If Jareth got his hands on her again she was damned! She had to get away!

She thought she heard someone yelling her name but didn't care who or what it was; her only thought was to get __away__!

She writhed madly against the ropes until whoever she thought she heard, grabbed both her shoulders and shook her. Through her panic, all she saw was a blob of grey looming down over her as she continued to scream through the gag and writhe madly against the restraints. The hands on her shoulders attempted to hold her still and she suddenly found herself squeezed into someone's chest with an impressive amount of force. She continued to struggle and yell until she felt the gag being pulled from her mouth. The action was enough to focus her panicked mind and really look at whoever it was that was holding her. When her crazed eyes finally registered that it wasn't long jagged blond hair and strange marked eyes she was staring at, but short soft brown and wide blue brimming with concern and worry, she struggled even harder, though now she wasn't fighting to get away, she was pushing herself into him with so much force she thought she felt him wince.

"Please don't make me go back! Please Jordan! Don't let them take me back!" She sobbed in hysteria, holding her body tightly to his chest. She felt the pressure of the restraints release her as Jordan tightened his hold even more, attempting to comfort the poor frantic girl as her panic slowly subsided.

"I won't ever let them take you back Sarah! I promise. Shhhh." He whispered soothingly to the girl as he gently rocked her back and forth. Eventually Jordan managed to calm Sarah enough to get her to slowly step out of the carriage, though she refused to let go of him for even a second. She wanted to throw her arms around him and thank him from the bottom of her heart for saving her. She wanted to cry all over him until she had no more tears to cry. She wanted to do a great many things, but settled for allowing Jordan to help her down from the carriage and pull her around it. They stopped when they saw King Oberon towering over two figures kneeling on the forest floor before him. A quick look and Sarah realised they were her captors. A man and a woman who looked exactly alike were staring up at the king without even so much as a scrap of fear. Behind them stood two guards with spears at the ready. Oberon's angry voice cut harshly through the still air.

"Why have you betrayed me?! Answer me!"

The two figures on the ground continued to look completely unfazed by the turn of events as Jordan pulled Sarah closer. The woman spoke first, her voice haughty and smug.

"King Jareth offered us immense titles and wealth for the girl." The woman said, unashamed, staring at Sarah.

Jordan's eyes were black with rage as he glared at the two traitors on their knees before the High King. They were trying to take her back to the Goblin King for __profit__? He held the trembling girl tighter to his chest as her crying slowly ceased, while wanting nothing more than to rip the two siblings apart with his bare hands.

He knew something was wrong the very instant he had laid down to sleep after leaving the feast halls. The celebration was dyeing down, and he had seen Sarah leave shortly before, and figured that since the king and queen had already retired, it was the perfect time to turn in for the night. He was already lying in bed when he felt a sudden stab of panic shoot down his arm and through his chest. It almost suffocated him, the power of it, and at first he didn't even know what it was. He looked around, expecting to see something in his room that was ready to attack, something that would have created such a sudden bizarre, intense feeling, but there was nothing. Then just as suddenly as the panic came, it disappeared. He had tried to lie back down and sleep but he felt too uncomfortable. Too unfocused. The feeling may have been gone but the strange sense of urgency remained, like he was feeling emotion through a thick glass window or double sided mirror. He didn't know why his mind immediately went to Sarah, but he was suddenly very compelled to check in on her. He had wasted precious minutes trying to talk himself out of it while he redressed and walked down the halls and up some stairs to her room. It was late, it was really late, and if he was about to knock on her door for absolutely nothing he knew he'd be burning with embarrassment. But it was always better to be safe than sorry. When he received no answer from inside her room the uneasy feeling only grew, and he was inexplicably compelled to simply bust in the door and charge into her room without invitation. It was empty. It was almost two in the morning, and she wasn't in her room? Where an earth could she _be_ at such a late hour.

The panic that was beginning to build in his stomach was entirely his own as he ran down the short list of places she could have been. He moved swiftly down the hall to her family's room, but without even knocking, he knew she wasn't there. Somehow, he knew she wasn't __anywhere__ he was thinking about. It was than that, almost as though some other force was driving his body, he flew down the halls and up more stairs until he reached the High King and Queen's chambers. He wasted another ten minutes arguing with the guards over whether or not he should be allowed entry. The second the king called through his door Jordan had practically broke through them in his haste to get in. He had told the king what he felt, and how he knew Sarah was no longer in the castle, how he couldn't __feel__ her there anymore. The king mentioned something fleetingly about bonded people being able to sense the other if they were in danger, and rushed down the halls with him without even waiting to change his nightclothes.

The few events following this were a bit of a blur for Jordan as the panic and desperation began to consume him. There was only one person who would try to take her from the kingdom, one person who would want to, and the knowledge only made him more frantic and alarmed.

He absolutely could not let the Goblin King get his hands on her again! He could not!

After ordering his guards to alert the Williams family of what was happening, Oberon took him as well as two other guards to his kingdom's boarder. They had seen the carriage barrelling towards them almost at once. Jordan's stomach almost lost all his supper as he thought of what might have happened had they arrived only one minute later.

Oberon had been burning with rage at the sight of the two guests in his kingdom sitting at the front of the carriage attempting to ride two horses out of his kingdom. It was only the knowledge that Sarah was in the carriage attached to the horses that made him suppress the power of the stunning spell he sent at the two creatures. The horses were halted, and the two fae dragged from their seats by the guards.

And now here they were. He thanked the gods and the spirits and any other thing that may be listening that they were able to reach her in time. A few minutes later, and he would have lost her.

"Guards," Oberon barked. "Take these two to the dungeon cells, and be sure to alert their father when you arrive. They will face trial soon enough!"

The two fae were dragged to their feet by the guards, but before they could do anything else, the woman suddenly spoke.

"You let those humans pollute the halls of your castle. Pathetic wastes, all of them!" The woman sneered. She then turned her superior, heartless eyes to the dark haired girl clinging to Jordan.

"The Goblin King offered us everything we wanted for you girl. He will not stop until he has you in his grasp again. No matter who you hide behind, he will have you."

Sarah cringed into Jordan's shoulder at the woman's words as the king barked from behind her, "Be gone!"

The guards immediately disappeared with the two traitors, and Oberon, still burning with anger, but relieved none the less, turned to face the young couple.

"Are you all right Sarah?" The king asked her.

Sarah tilted her head slightly from where she was pressed against Jordan's shoulder to nod, making an immense effort to hide her cascading tears fluidly drenching her face.

She was __not__ all right.

She had thought she was safe. She had believed it and yet she had come so close to being taken again. Kidnapped __again__. She felt like screaming, but she only settled to wipe her tears on Jordan's shirt before turning to face the concerned gaze of the king.

"Thank you." She told him. Her voice was weak.

The king nodded. "We should get you back, your parents were informed of what transpired, and I'm sure their worried enough."

Sarah practically knocked her father to the floor when she saw her three family members standing near the door of the Throne Room when Oberon brought her and Jordan back to his castle. It was a major case of déjà vu for Sarah, how similar the incident was from the first night she had seen them again. She clung to them and cried much as she had that night, irrationally and uncontrollably emotional she held to her family as Oberon cleared the room again, though this time Oberon and Jordan stayed, as well as Titania who had been waiting with the worried family.

"Thank god you're safe!" Was all her father said as he held her close.

Sarah's body seemed to go completely cold in an instant.

__No. I'm not safe, ____W__as all she could think as she hugged into her family fiercely. __I thought I was, and look what happened. __

She didn't say anything, particularly not with Oberon in the room. She was grateful, beyond belief, that she had been saved, but this incident had just served to pop the beautiful shiny bubble of comfort and safety she had wrapped herself in for the past few weeks. Despite everything, she was still in danger, and the threat was everywhere.

Surprisingly, her father was the one who spoke her fears. Holding his daughter close to him, he suddenly turned angry and accusatory eyes on the High King.

"I thought we were supposed to be safe here. How did this even happen?"

Sarah was surprised enough by her father's tone to pull herself from his embrace.

"Dad..." She started, in an attempt to defend the king, but her father completely ignored her.

"No Sarah! You were almost taken from us again! By his own people!" Robert said angrily, pointing his head in the direction of the king standing near the door. "Where are the people who took her?! Why did they take her in the first place?"

Every head in the room turned to the High King, holding hands with his queen. Oberon addressed the angry father, completely understanding the man's hostility.

"They were children of a visiting court member. I am not sure how long they have been in the Goblin King's employ or if the king only managed to get in touch with them recently. Either way, they were hired to take Sarah back to the Goblin Kingdom."

Sarah couldn't suppress the whimper that released from her lips. She whirled to face the king, all her thoughts and fears suddenly bursting loose.

"Why! Why is he doing this?! Why can't he just let me go?!" She cried the unanswerable questions to the room of spectators as her body continued to shake from the draining adrenaline and exhaustion.

Oberon took a step towards the girl, debating with himself at lightning speed whether or not this was the time and place to reveal such pivotal information. He addressed the girl carefully.

"Sarah, perhaps we should go and talk in my study."

"No." Sarah responded at once. She looked at her gathered family and shook her head. Her emotions were out of control and she was in no mood for games. Completely forgetting the king had just saved her life, and tired out of her mind with being overtly polite, she stuttered out a plea to the king.

"Please, just tell me what's going on. I know you know something! Please, just tell me why he's doing this, why he's going through so much trouble for one small human!"

Oberon looked at the hysterical girl, to the girl's family and Jordan. Catching Jordan's eye, the boy gave the king a small encouraging nod, telling him silently that now was the perfect time to just tell the girl. It was now or never.

Oberon took in a deep breath, and his eyes never wavering from Sarah, finally revealed the information he had been sitting on for the past few days.

"Because you're not human."

* * *

**Firstly, I would like to apologise if this chapter has more spelling errors than usual. For some unknown reason, the spell-check on my Open Office just suddenly and completely stopped working. No warning, no indications, nothing. I am so annoyed, but i couldn't let it stop me from updating even if there may be some mistakes I'll be sure to find when I re-read this tomorrow. For now, I need sleep, so, R right now my hot water bottle is calling me. Laters.**


	17. Part Five - Chapter Two

****Part Five****

****Chapter Two****

They were captured. The spies he had in Oberon's kingdom had finally been given a job and they had failed! How was it possible that, after every plan he had put in motion, he was still completely defenceless against that pathetic excuse for a king?!

Jareth was alone, surrounded by broken remains of crystals that he had conjured purely for the purpose of smashing them to pieces.

How had he known? The Abbot siblings had been given great protection against tracking, and his other spies had reported the brother and sister had managed to get Sarah out of the castle undetected. How was it possible that, just as they were about to cross the border to another kingdom, Oberon and that... __boy__... had just showed up to ruin everything?

If they had managed to get Sarah past the border, they could have simply ridden the carriage to one of dozens of borders and forests separating all the different Seelie kingdoms. It would have been impossible to locate them by magic, thanks to his cloaking spell, and it would have taken them less than a day to ride to the nearest Unseelie kingdom, where no Seelie soldier would dare follow. Not even, he was certain, their beloved __king__.

In that moment Jareth was cursing himself for never thinking to do what Oberon had done by providing his spies with a magic powerful enough to override the spells set in place to prevent teleportation in and out of the kingdoms. He had no doubt his blood magic was just as powerful as Oberon's, if not more so. No doubt the same potion that wretched boy had used to take Sarah from her room could have been duplicated on his end, by __his__ brewers; the possibility of needing such extremes had simply never occurred to him.

__Foolish! __

The Unseelie king collapsed on his throne, glaring through the empty air of his Throne Room with angry, contempt filled eyes. Eyes that seemed to soften only minutely as his thoughts strayed to his dark haired beauty.

__My precious thing.__

__Why? Why is she ____doing____ this to us?__

Oberon had her family. His spies had reported the group of humans now walked through the halls of the Seelie castle with ease. Their presence in Oberon's kingdom explained everything.

Sarah would never leave them. She was protective of those she loved, he knew that. He had used it against her in the worst possible way once, but he had had no choice.

She was so strong. __Too__ strong. He had no doubt his usual methods to enforce obedience and submission would have worked on anyone who __wasn't__ her, but he had had to resort to destroying the one person she loved the most to finally make her see just how far he was willing to go to keep her.

The night she had tried to escape had been as devastating for him as it had been for her. He had had so many plans. Her new room had been finished only a few days before and he had actually been excited at the prospect of giving it to her, saddened that she waited for him in a windowless tomb every night. But then, because of one goblin's foolishness, and her rebellious nature, he had had to do the unthinkable.

He __had__ to prove who had the control here. Who really had the power. She had to realise just what it was she was truly up against. Taking Toby from her had done that. It had made her see just how determined he really was to teach her that her place was with him. And bringing him back to life? That had been crucial to. Not only had he made her see the true extent of his power, but he had also shown her that any pain he would visit on her would be her own making. After _that_ little stunt, he had decided another six months beneath the castle would do her some good. The more she resisted, the more she was punished, it was as simple as that.

She had seen. He had made her see. Her punishment had been served, and he had been pleased that the severity of the punishment had deterred her from ever purposefully defying him again. Using Toby had been enough to tame that unbreakable spirit of hers and now..? Now that power was in someone else's hands. Oberon had all of them under his protection, so threatening her would no longer work. Kidnap had been one of his last options, and now that had failed also.

Oberon had all he needed to keep her in his kingdom, a fact Jareth absolutely hated. If Oberon ever discovered just how precious Sarah really was... he couldn't even think it.

The angry king stood from his throne and walked towards the archway window, looking out over his kingdom. The kingdom that was __supposed__ to be his. It was meant for him, it and all the power it possessed. The labyrinth was more powerful than anyone could ever possibly comprehend and it was his. He was going to make sure it stayed that way.

The king glared in the direction of the Seelie High Kingdom.

__Alright Sarah Williams__, he thought, his sharp eyes turning a menacing black, __if you want to fight again, we will. We will do battle until everyone around us lies dead at our feet, but I will __never __let you deny my power again.__

__You belong to me, and this kingdom. The labyrinth claimed you long ago and you cannot hide from it forever. Your power is mine, and I __will __get you back.__

****AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA****

Miles and miles away, in the darkest depths of the Goblin kingdom, a haggard, aged goblin woman stood. All seeing eyes stared intensely at the expanse of the kingdom, watching it go past the maze and through the large castle at the very end. Many thought the prize of the kingdom was the King's castle, but they would be wrong. The labyrinth hummed and pulsed with more power than any of them could ever understand.

The aged woman lifted her burden of junk more securely on her back and continued to trample through moss covered earth and closely huddled trees. The early morning light made it difficult to navigate but this was a path the old goblin had taken many times before. In the distance she was sure she heard the faint sounds of music and singing coming from the deeper forests, and reasoned that the large orange, self proclaimed 'fire gang' were awake and up to no good as usual. Coming to a large wall of stone slightly obscured by vines and dead brambles, the haggard woman smiled, pulling the dead shrubbery away to reveal an entrance to one of the kingdoms oubliettes. The girl would be here soon, and preparations needed to be made.

The goblin ran a long fingernail down the centre of the seemingly ordinary wall and watched as it opened for her, revealing the ladder leading down into a seemingly endless hole of darkness. The goblin woman looked behind her one last time, appraising the sight. From her high vantage point on the maze, she watched as a few of the labyrinth's walls crumbled, moving and shifting, the faint rumbling sound echoing through the quiet early morning air. The maze was always changing, and constantly evolving, but no one, not even its king, knew just how much change was coming.

She smiled a sly smile.

"Soon."

* * *

****So yeah, short chapter, but I wanted at least ONE chapter in my story that didn't have Sarah in it. Love the main characters, but sometimes some differentiation is nice. Anywho, tell me what you think so far, I suspect that this story may be coming to an end soon, so I'd like to rake up as many reviews as possible before I finally hit that 'complete' button. HELP ME! So yeah, anyway, sees ya' soon.****


	18. Part Five - Chapter Three

**Part Five**

**Chapter Three**

Sarah didn't know where she was. She would have perhaps noticed the blinding pain in her right side if she had any comprehension of her own body. As it was, her mind was so busy sifting through the information she had received that all she could manage to do was slump against a tree she somehow found herself near.

It didn't take Jordan long to find her, as he had followed her out of the Throne Room. He was panting and near exhausted, same as Sarah, but still had enough sense in his head to know that now wasn't the time to talk. He simply sat himself against another tree and discreetly watched the girl, waiting to listen.

Sarah barely noticed the additional presence of the fae beside her as she attempted to make sense of all she had just been told. She realised running away had been both childish and melodramatic, but she knew that she simply wouldn't be able to stand her parent's forceful staring after they listened to what Oberon had to say. She also knew she needed some time alone. She dismissed Jordan seated beside her, grateful that he wasn't attempting to talk to her, because she honestly believed she wouldn't even be capable of pushing a few stray syllables out of her mouth right now. So she didn't try, and so they sat, on a rough wooded floor, in silence.

How could she _not_ have known?

Of course there had been a reason. There had always been one. Some deeper darker motivation that had resulted in all this pain and misery.

She felt like she was swaying, everything around her spinning violently, but it wasn't. Everything was completely still. She _wanted_ to spin. Spin so fast she puked up a years worth of bile and sickness and hatred. Because the truth was she hated herself every bit as much as she hated _him_.

_'Not human.'_

_'Power of the labyrinth.'_

_'Champion.'_

_'Rightful queen.'_

She couldn't think.

All this time she had believed that the reason Jareth had tortured her until she had literally no fight left, was because he wanted her. Wanted her compliant and weak and submissive, because apparently that was how the bastard liked his women. She should have known. Known there was something much darker and far more important under all of that angst. She was sure a part of it had been because he had wanted to own her, all of her, without resistance. But now she knew that for the most part, he simply wanted her power.

_'You conquered the labyrinth, and as its champion, it gave you magic, magic that Jareth tried to take away from you... It gave you power, and changed you to make you capable of containing that power... You're its ruler. It's rightful queen.'_

Power. Queen.

She was definitely going to be sick.

Eventually, the shock wore off enough for Sarah to register that she was in a forest, which must have meant she had ran quite a distance from the truth Oberon had delivered. She looked around, and saw Jordan sitting some thirty feat away, tearing up leaves and looking quite normal for a fae. The early morning sun was just high enough to be throwing shadows all over his face, shadows that darkened his soft features in an attractive way, and Sarah found herself staring longer than was polite for anyone to look at another person's face. Seeming to sense her stare, Jordan looked back over at her. She didn't even try to hide her gaze, though felt a faint blush cover her cheeks from embarrassment. Finally, after much awkward silence, Jordan spoke.

"Are you alright?"

Sarah did look away then, staring down at the leaves and dirt the skirt of her dress was lying around. If she ever managed to get home, she was going to wear jeans and trousers for a year straight; so sick of dresses was she.

_There you go again, an eternal optimist aren't you?_

"Tell me something." Sarah said out of nowhere, her voice grainy and cracked.

Jordan looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Sarah shook her head and leaned it back against the tree. "Just talk, say anything, anything that will distract me right now."

Jordan gazed at her, the fringe of her long dark hair was stuck to her forehead, her face flushed a deep red from the exertion. Her chest was heaving, though Jordan felt unchivalrous to let his gaze linger there. Her eyes looked... glazed.

_It is a lot for one person to process, what can I tell her that will distract..?_

"Do you know I have brothers?" He churned out randomly.

Sarah had already been looking at him, but her eyes sharpened slightly upon hearing that. She shook her head, brow furrowed. Jordan nodded.

"Two, both older, and from different women. Silas and Michael are Unseelie, just like my father. I'm what you would call, the 'black sheep' of the family."

Sarah tilted her head.

"You've never mentioned them."

Jordan shrugged. "Like I said, their both like my father, which meant that I avoided them pretty much throughout my entire childhood, not that dear old dad ever wanted us interacting anyway. Michael was his prize, went off to serve another Unseelie king when he came of age, and then Silas, who married above his station much earlier than anyone imagined he would. We don't talk, and even if we did, I doubt we'd get on. You and your brother may have started out on rocky territory, but at least now, you have each other and love each other. You and your family are so good together, you know? The only time my father ever touched me was to lay a hand on me in anger. I know this may sound a tad condescending but, you truly are a lucky one, despite all that's happened to you over the past year, at least... at least you have them with you now."

Sarah stared with wider eyes. He had done what she hoped he would do, talking had made her stop thinking about everything that was happening in her own head, and forced her to focus on something else. She lifted her head slightly forward.

"You know, the last time we were in these woods, I asked you if you had ever been tortured. You said no. Why'd you lie?"

He shrugged, "Guess I didn't want to stop your momentum, you were finally talking to me after all." He told her, smiling slightly. Sarah gave him a ghost of a half smile back and sighed.

"Gods, I must have sounded like such a high and mighty self absorbed bitch."

Jordan scooted a little closer to her. "Sarah, we never think that bad things, that _really_ _bad_ things like what you've been through, or what I've been through, are going to happen to us. Hell, I grew up with it and still, every day I'd hope that _this_ was the day things would miraculously change, and I'm sure that a part of you always thought that to. The constant disappointments of the real world do tend to grate on a persons perfect humble nature after a while. It's okay to be a little involved. It doesn't mean you're going to hell."

That made her laugh, brief as it was, she laughed.

The silence that followed was heavy, but not uncomfortable. It didn't really feel that way for either of them. They could be together and not say a word. They could just... be.

The sun was fully risen and tinting the forest floor with a golden glow when Sarah finally broke the silence.

"So... I'm not human anymore." She said; emotionless, tired and drained.

"I honestly can't believe how stupid I was, to never even suspect it. I didn't know that winning the labyrinth meant that it was going to give me power, or choose me as its... _queen_. And all it took was weeks of torture and four little words to get the power out." She said.

"Jareth didn't _get_ the power out of you Sarah. The power wasn't gone, it was just repressed. Buried under whatever magic Jareth used to subdue it, but he couldn't get _rid_ of it. The labyrinth's magic would always be rightfully yours, no matter what magic words he made you say." Jordan explained.

Sarah slumped further against the tree. "I don't get it, Oberon made a big deal about how much power there was in me and how strong it was, but it never exactly did me any good did it? Even before he made me say those words, I was still being tortured. I couldn't stop him. How can this supposed power be so great, if it didn't even let me defend myself?"

Jordan sighed, "That... I don't have an answer for."

Sarah huffed in agitation, lifted herself up and started pacing. "No, I mean it! How can the labyrinths power be so strong, strong enough that Jareth strung me up in chains and whipped me every night until I renounced it, if it couldn't even protect me, or let me protect myself? And not just from him! Whatever spell he used to suppress the magic in me is gone now, and I still came _this_ _close_ to being kidnapped again! How can I be so powerful, and yet so _fucking_ helpless?!"

Jordan bowed his head in shame.

"I should have protected you from that. I should have saved you sooner. I'm sorry."

"NO!" Sarah screamed, scaring both Jordan and several birds in the trees above them.

The anger radiating off of Sarah was palpable. "I am _sick_ of needing to be _protected! _Of needing to be _saved!_ Gods I hate this, I hate being so weak and helpless and quiet, I just want to be _me_ again! I want to just rip out all the bad Jareth left me with and just... move on. Get over it; forget about it like it never happened. For _once_, I just want to save _myself_!"

Strained silence followed Sarah's outburst as both boy and girl slumped, resigned in defeat. Sarah wished it would be as simple as screaming all the bad out until she was back to normal. Except, now, she didn't have a _normal_ to go back to.

_Queen of the labyrinth._

"What does it mean?" She suddenly asked, her voice sprained from her previous eruption.

Jordan tilted his head in a silent question.

"Being _queen of the labyrinth_. Being chosen. What does it mean? I could tell that you already knew. Oberon told you right?"

She didn't sound angry, or accusatory, only curious. Jordan nodded, shamed anyway. He had known. When the brewer examined Sarah's blood after he had removed Jareth's magic, he was shocked at how much raw magic was moving through it. Far too much for an alleged human to be capable of possessing. Oberon hadn't told Sarah's parents, as they were already stressed enough over Sarah's comatose state, but Jordan had been there to witness it. The brewer, having had many years of experience, was able to identify the magic as that of the labyrinths, for the labyrinth had been studied for its supposed abilities by both Seelie and Unseelie for many years. There was no other structure like it in the entire Underground, as it seemed capable of thinking and moving all by itself. However, due to its heavy protection and defences, getting close enough to study it would be an impossible task, especially for a Seelie. The labyrinths power was one of the reasons the position of Goblin King was one so feared and respected. But no one had ever been able to determine whether or not the labyrinth gained its power from its ruler, or its ruler gained its power from it.

Studying Sarah's blood, several old scrolls and many books Oberon and the brewer had finally drawn the conclusion that whatever kind of power the labyrinth had was no longer in the Goblin King's hands, but in Sarah's.

"By the law of the Underground, Jareth is still the rightful ruler of the kingdom, but the labyrinths power, all of it, is with you." Jordan stated ominously.

Sarah blinked.

"What does _that_ mean?"

"It means that you're harbouring energy inside your body that is incredibly powerful and unique. No human would ever be able to carry that much power for so long without being... altered. It changed you so the magic inside you wouldn't end up crushing you one day. You're not fae, but you're not entirely human either. Your... one of a kind." He finished with a small smile.

Sarah's blank wide eyes didn't falter a bit.

"But I don't feel any different. How could I have all this... power, inside me, and not know about it? Wouldn't I have at least felt something if it changed me or whatever?" She asked, dazed.

A small smile graced Jordan's features again.

"That's what Oberon was trying to figure out. You know, he wondered if perhaps, there was a chance that you knew all along, and were just too afraid to say anything. He didn't know how a human's body could be capable of containing the amount of magic you have inside you now, but he did guess it has something to do with us."

Sarah's brow furrowed, her gaping mouth stretching wider.

"Us? What do you..? Oh." She said in a flat voice, her shoulders slumping tiredly. "You mean _the bond_."

Jordan nodded sympathetically.

"Yes. You were born with that tiny bit of magic inside you, so... perhaps that is the true reason your body was so greatly altered and you never even noticed. You told me when you were younger, you felt like an outcast right?"

Sarah gave him a strange look but nodded in confirmation.

"Perhaps the reason you felt that way was because you were always supposed to be here. Maybe... the labyrinth chose you as its queen before you even won."

Sarah leaned her body back against the tree, beyond tired again. She couldn't keep doing this. Another day, another stunning realisation. Another drastic event. She felt like she could sleep for a week. She just wanted her old, boring life back. School and homework and babysitting. Where the most exciting thing that happened to her was getting an A on a paper or ordering takeout for the night. A small smile sprang to her lips at such memories. Gods, she even missed her high school teachers.

_Wow, Jareth must have done a bigger number on me than I thought._

_At least I know why._

_He wants this magic, or he doesn't want me to have it. It can't be that special if it never let me defend myself. Shouldn't I have been able to do _something_ to insure my own safety? Urg, what a mess!_

"What's troubling you?" Jordan asked quietly, bringing a smile to Sarah's lips at his out of date language. He looked way to young to talk like that, though she had been noticing some changes in his speech. She must have been rubbing off on him.

She shook her head.

"I'm still so confused." She admitted. "There's still so much I don't understand."

Jordan pushed himself up from his sitting position and walked over to her.

"I don't have all the answers, no one does. But I'll bet Oberon could answer more of your questions than I could." He held out his hand as though it were a challenge. "Come with me?"

Sarah looked at his gloved hand and nodded quietly. She never could resist a challenge.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

"Unfortunately the messenger who escorted you to my main office has not been found anywhere in the castle. If she is still in the kingdom at all, she will likely be trying to remain inconspicuous long enough to escape my boundaries undetected. As for the Maltock children, they are both currently being held in the castle's containment cells until I can decide what to do with them. Again Sarah, I am terribly sorry this happened to you and in my own home no less." The king said.

Sarah and Jordan were sitting opposite the king in his 'special' office, having already bid goodnight to her parents and Oberon his queen, they were once again alone. Sarah had felt embarrassed as she re-entered the Throne Room and saw her parents, still in the exact spot they were when she had reacted so immaturely. She should have known running wasn't the answer, running away from her problems had never yielded good results before, but what was done was done. Her father and Karen seemed to have absorbed this new information remarkably better then she had. Or, at least, hadn't fled from the room in terror. She couldn't stop her cheeks from burning a deep dark red as they both enveloped her in a hug the moment she walked back into the Throne Room with Jordan at her side. She apologised, and, of course, they brushed it off, saying, 'it's been a long night for all of us.' Sarah couldn't agree more, realising she hadn't had any sleep since the day before, and after her little running episode, she was more than ready to lie down on something soft and warm. But, of course, she knew sleeping would have to wait, as would everything else until she fully understood the circumstances she was dealing with here. Oberon had dismissed everyone except herself and Jordan, and instructed both of them to follow him to his private office. Sarah was grateful when she recognised the path leading to the office she had found him in on her second night in the castle. Having been kidnapped right out of the other she was in no rush to be back in that room again.

And now they sat. Sarah fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat at the king's words. She was hoping she could hold on to her last scraps of energy long enough to absorb whatever information the king hadn't already revealed. She had so many questions about all of this, but her fatigue was halting them from coming to the surface at that moment. She inwardly cursed at the faes higher stamina. Both Oberon and Jordan seemed perfectly fine, whereas Sarah not only longed for her bed, but also a hot bath to wash off all the sweat and dirt that currently stuck to her skin.

She was about to tell the king that she was fine, that it wasn't his fault and that she was just grateful he had reached her in time, but before she could get two words out, the door to the office was opened again.

"Your Majesty." A guard said, bowing at the waist as he entered the room. "This came for you Sire, from one of the informants close to the Goblin Kingdom." He said in a rush, holding out a simple white envelope. Sarah's eyes widened as she exchanged her surprise with Jordan. Oberon stood to walk towards the guard taking the envelope, cutting it open and unfolding it in one swift movement. Both young people watched as the king's light eyes scanned down the unfolded paper, his face deep in concentration. He then let out a heavy sigh and looked over at the two.

"Jordan, could I have a moment in private with you please? This is important." He stressed, seeing the boy about to object. Jordan let out a small sigh knowing the king was serious in his request. Wondering what information could possibly have come about the Goblin Kingdom he would want to keep from Sarah of all people; he turned to her and said calmly, "I'll be right back."

Sarah merely nodded her head, watching with confused eyes as Jordan walked out into the hallway, and Oberon closed the door behind them, leaving Sarah in the office alone.

_What was _that_ about?_

Sarah twiddled her thumbs in her lap, raising her gaze to the door every few moments, waiting for the two to return. It must have been something pretty big if the king didn't want to involve her. Or perhaps it was just a simple instance that had nothing to do with her. In any case, after several moments alone, Sarah could feel her body begin to sag with exhaustion. She immediately got out of her chair and started pacing, willing herself not to burn out just yes; after all she had had many more exhausting nights.

While waiting for the two men to join her again, her eyes were drawn to the bookshelf lining the left wall. She remembered the impressive piece of magic the king had displayed by pulling that little red book out of a seemingly invisible black hole, and was interested enough to walk over to it. There was something about that book that stirred in her memory, snared on something and got caught there as she found her body automatically drawn to the place she vaguely remembered the king standing as he had put his hand right through the invisible hole in the wall. She cast a cautionary glance towards the door, not wanting to get caught snooping but really not being able to stop herself. She reached out her hand tentatively, not sure what was going to happen. Her arm was almost shaking as she slowly stretched her fingers to touch the place she remembered the king touching and... Her hand landed on a book. A breath she hadn't known she'd been holding in was released as she silently laughed at her own absurdity. She pulled the book, and it released from between the two books hugging it in just like an ordinary book should. Pushing it back in place, she took a step back and studied the bookshelf.

Despite its visual normality, there was definitely something... something... off. She remembered that little red book the king had shown her, and she remembered thinking it looked exactly like the labyrinth book she owned, but she had been to preoccupied at the time to really let her mind linger on the topic. She had been too worried about Toby, and then getting her family back had erased pretty much all thought of it out of her mind. But... there was definitely something. Something just barely scratching at the surface of her brain.

_What is it? Urg, I am _way_ too tired for this!_

Sarah threw herself back in her chair, frustrated by her own ignorance. She stared at the bookshelf some more, picking at the sleeve of the dress she had been wearing since that time yesterday morning. There was just something about that book. Something she could have sworn was important, but her memory refused to budge.

_Stupid human memory. What are they talking about out there? I really need a bath. I really need some _sleep_._

She leaned her head back in the chair and closed her eyes, figuring it wouldn't hurt to simply rest them until the two men came back inside. The light of the room was casting spots behind her closed eyelids as her mind started to drift. Images replaying the past days events swam and shifted as her body further relaxed in the seat. In a sleepy, pre-dream haze she saw the two books, sitting side by side. Each the exact same size, each the same exact shade of red. The images started to sway and wobble, becoming unclear in her mind. And suddenly, she was dreaming.

_She was seeing those books sitting beside each other on an old vanity that was similar to her own. She was standing in, what looked to be her old room, but she didn't trust the walls. Everything felt far to perfect to truly be her room. It was perfect and it was fuzzy, shifting in her dream world. She held the two books together, desperately trying to recall why they were important, what was so significant about them. And then, suddenly, she heard a voice._

_'Deary?'_

_Sarah spun in shock and was faced with the visage of the junkyard goblin. Or, at least, Sarah assumed it was her. She couldn't see her face clearly; it was distorted and out of focus, like a poorly taken photograph. But the figure still carried the large pile of junk she had come to associate with the character. Sarah stared at her, trying to focus on the grainy image when the croaky, scratchy voice spoke again._

_'Come deary.'_

_And just as suddenly as she appeared, she vanished._

_Sarah felt a stab of panic. She didn't want to be alone in here. In this room she knew wasn't her own. She saw the door that was meant to lead out into her hallway open at the other side of the room and she ran to it. Then, all of a sudden she was running through the labyrinth. Trying desperately to follow the goblin she could no longer see. She was terrified to be here. The labyrinth's walls seemed larger and far more menacing, as though they were looming down at her, casting mocking shadows that were attempting to draw her in. _Snatching_ at her. The darkness of the night was more blinding and suffocating, each step forward she took was claimed by the darkness, and she knew if she stopped moving, even for a moment, it would claim her to. Even the cobblestones seemed sharper, almost eager for her to fall and spill her precious blood on them._

_She ran relentlessly, somehow knowing, beyond doubt, that _this_ was the right way. Her dress was wet with her own sweat, and she felt disgusting, but she didn't stop. Then she was suddenly still. She didn't remember stopping, only now she was no longer moving, but standing stationary before _a _large brick wall. A wall she was sure she had seen somewhere before..._

_And then the goblin lady was before her again, still carting the mountain of junk on her back. Sarah watched as the goblin drew her fingernail down the wall, and stood in awe as the wall opened. Abruptly and without warning, the junk lady took a step forward and fell, vanishing completely. Sarah rushed towards the wall in a panic, only to be greeted with a vast black hole. She was staring down at a seemingly endless pit, like looking through an upside-down tunnel._

_It petrified her, that darkness._

_And she heard the voice again._

_'Come deary.' The croaky voice whispered. Sarah stared down the dark hole, leaning in_ _cautiously, careful not to fall._

_'Come back down the ladder. There is so much down here you have yet to see. Come.'_

Ladder? But there is no ladder?_ Sarah looked again, and suddenly there _was_ a ladder. And the voice was so enticing, echoing darkly from the bottom of the pit like a whisper from a well. A large room, or a... a... an _oubliette_._

_It was drawing her in, tempting her to go down. But the hole was so black. Where did it lead? What if it didn't lead anywhere? What if there was something dangerous down there, that wanted to hurt her? She retreated, shaking her head in refusal. Then suddenly, her ears were assaulted by dozens of voices. All of them whispering the same thing, but there were so many, it sounded like a deafening roar._

_'Come our queen! Come home!'_

_'Come our queen! Come home!'_

_'Come home!'_

_'Come home!'_

_'Come home!'_

...

Sarah jolted off the chair so quickly she fell forward and slammed into the wood of Oberon's desk. Her heart was pounding, her body drenched in sweat, her sight assaulted by the morning light in the office and her chest clenching painfully in her terror. She threw her eyes around frantically, relieved beyond belief that she was in fact still in Oberon's office, and not in the last place on earth she ever wanted to return to.

_What was that?! It was a dream but it felt... it felt so... Oh my gods, what if it was..?_

Sarah's inner musings was cut like a cake when the door to the office was opened and the agitated voice of Jordan assaulted her ears.

"... don't see why I would keep it from her, it doesn't even matter. Why not..?" The voice stopped talking abruptly.

Sarah stared through the thick dark locks obscuring her vision as almost identical expressions of shock took over both Jordan and the king. But honestly she didn't even appear to really see them; her head was to busy being assaulted by her nightmare.

_Nightmare? Was it a nightmare? But it felt so... so different_. _I've had plenty of nightmares, and none have ever felt like _that_._

Jordan was quick to move towards her, from where she had landed on the floor, he bent to try and catch Sarah's eye from between her wild tresses, but Sarah didn't even see him.

_That dream, my room, I know I've dreamed of it before, and those books, and that lady... what the hell just happened?_

"Sarah, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Jordan asked concerned, putting his hand on her shoulder and lifting her to her feet. She went without the slightest hint of comprehension that she was now standing. He shook her slightly. The king still stood by the door.

_The junk lady I met during my run, I know I've dreamed about her before. What did she tell me? Something about the labyrinth?_

"Sarah, seriously, what's wrong?"

_Who were those voices? They kept saying I had to 'come home'. But the labyrinth isn't my home! I can't go back to Jareth's kingdom! God damn it, what am I missing?!_

"Sarah, can you hear me? Please talk to me!"

_The junk lady, she said... she said..._

_'The answer to all your problems child... is in the labyrinth.'_

_Oh. Oh!_

Jordan exchanged a worried look with the king across the office; Sarah stood right beside him, her eyes distant and her body passive. It was as though she was a completely empty vessel. Her body was there, but not her mind. Not her soul. Jordan raised a quivering hand to brush the sweat damp hair away from her forehead, exposing her face completely. It scared him, to see her look like that. They had only left the room for five minutes. What could possibly have happened?

And then Sarah blinked. Jordan watched in sick relief as she shook her head as though to free it of cobwebs. Her eyes seemed to narrow, as though she were finally aware of her surroundings, and of him, who squeezed the shoulder he was still holding and managed to catch her wondering gaze.

"Sarah, are you alright? You seemed completely blank there for a minute. What happened? Say something!"

She just stared at him, unblinking, unmoving, and said the words she knew carried more dread and more truth then anything she had ever or would ever say.

"The labyrinth... I have to go back."

* * *

**OHHHHHH, the drama! The suspense! The overly dramatic writing techniques! LOL!**

**Sorry this chapter took sooooo looooong, but I have been quite a busy beaver these past few months. Still, I hope every body had a good Halloween, and that even if you didn't go out for a night at a very bad dress up party, you at least enjoyed yourself stuffing your face with discounted multipack chocolate and reasonably scary movies that make you jump and then laugh at yourself for jumping. Has anyone ever listened to the song 'Here' by Alessia Cara? That's how I feel whenever I try to chance a party. I'm much more suited for a quiet night in. Boring, I know, but that's just me.**

**Anywho, I'll try to get another chapter up sooner this time. My goal is to at least have this story finished before Christmas so hopefully I can do it.**

**R&amp;R my readers. Laters.**


	19. Part Five - Chapter Four

****Part Five****

****Chapter Four****

The response to her statement was blank stares.

"What?" Jordan asked, entirely convinced he had not heard correctly.

"The labyrinth," she repeated, "I have to go back."

Jordan looked in the direction of the king, and shared with him a baffled look before returning his gaze to the girl.

"Sarah... I don't think you're thinking clearly. Why don't you sit down and have something to drink-"

"I __am__ thinking clearly," Sarah insisted in a loud voice, "and I know how it sounds, but I have to go back there. It was calling out to me Jordan. It wants to give me answers."

Jordan's gaping mouth could have caught flies.

"When did this happen?" He asked, confused.

"Just now, I had a dream about it, and it was calling for me. I just know it has the answers I need." Sarah said with conviction. She looked over at the king, who still stood by the door, staring back at her with a mixture of puzzlement and interest.

"Which is the safest way into the Goblin Kingdom? Is there a way I can sneak in undetected?"

"What!" Jordan almost yelled. Sarah looked back at him and he almost cringed at the sheer mad conviction radiating from the girl's eyes.

"Jordan, I have to -"

"Are you insane?!" He shrieked at her. "We just narrowly avoided you being kidnapped by people who wanted to take you __back__ to Jareth's kingdom! When I found you, you were hysteric, begging me not to let them take you and now you want to go running back to him of your own free will?!"

Sarah simply shook her head at him. He didn't understand. "They were trying to take me back to __Jareth__ Jordan. I don't want to go back to __him__; I want to go to the labyrinth. It __wants__ me to be there, I can feel it!"

Before Jordan could say another word of protest, the king spoke. "Where did all this come from?" He asked, stepping closer to the pair.

"I had a dream and-"

"That's it?!" Jordan interrupted. "You want to go running back to the Goblin Kingdom because of a __dream__?!"

Sarah almost huffed in annoyance at him. "Jordan, it wasn't a regular dream. I've had dreams like this before, and every time the dream was trying to tell me something. I know the labyrinth wants me to return. Jareth doesn't even need to know."

Jordan's already bulging eyes widened even further as he spluttered in shock, "You think that you are going to be able to just waltz back into Jareth's kingdom without him knowing about it?! Sarah, that is crazy! Your Majesty, please tell her how crazy that is!"

Silence met Jordan's plea, and the silence stretched until both Sarah and Jordan broke eye contact to stare over at the king. But Oberon didn't appear to be looking at them. He seemed deep in thought. Finally, after much deliberation, he raised his gaze back to the pair and said, "It's not completely crazy."

Sarah beamed. Jordan actually scowled at him.

"What?!"

"The kingdom belongs to Jareth, yes. So if you were spotted by boarder patrol, they would inform him. However, if you were to enter the kingdom via the labyrinth, it wouldn't announce you, because its allegiance isn't to the Goblin King anymore, it belongs..."

"To me." Sarah finished calmly.

Jordan was gaping at both of them as though they had lost their minds.

"You can't... I... I won't let you!"

"I am not asking you for permission Jordan!" She snapped at him, returning his glower at full force. "This is something __I__ __have__ to do. I am going, whether you like it or not."

Jordan turned pleading eyes on the king once more.

"Your Majesty, you can't honestly be thinking of encouraging this. We were gone for five minutes; you can't honestly tell me that you could have rationally made a decision that immense in five minutes!" He hollered shrilly at her.

Sarah took a few steps away from him, shaking her head.

__He doesn't understand. I need to know what I am. I know the labyrinth wants to tell me something. All of those dreams, they were all leading me to the labyrinth. My life was completely __totalled __because of this. I __have __to __know__!__

"Why don't we all sit down?" Oberon suggested, looking between the two hostile young people. Sarah sat quickly and without complaint, while Jordan lingered before throwing himself down with an agitated huff. Oberon sat regally, and addressed the dark haired girl first.

__"__Sarah. Are you one hundred percent sure you wish to return to the Goblin Kingdom, because, as you know, the risk will indeed be immense. Even with the labyrinth on your side, Jareth has goblin spies everywhere. How would you even know where to go to get these supposed answers you say the labyrinth wants to give you?"

Jordan shifted in his seat and turned to face her as if to say, 'yeah, answer __that __one'.

Sarah shot him an annoyed look before going back into the memory of her dream. It had been so detailed, so vivid. She knew it couldn't have been just an average nightmare. She saw the labyrinth, she saw the junk lady, leading her somewhere. And then she had come to a wall, a wall she thought looked familiar, but at the same time… not. __Urg, this is so confusing!__ __Okay Sarah, focus.__ The wall was yellowish in colour, with large square stones unevenly spread. __It was a dead end, but then it wasn't. Then, suddenly, it was a hole that leads to an oubliette. Wait. Wait…__

__'This was a dead end a minute ago'.__

__'No, that's the dead end behind you'.__

Jordan did not like the smile that suddenly spread over Sarah's face, as, unbeknownst to him; Sarah was placing the memory of the wall. It was the wall with the lying doors! Yes, she remembered!

__'One of them leads to the castle at the centre of the labyrinth, and the other one leads to… certain death'.__

But in her dream, the goblins that held the door weren't there, but then, she recalled, the labyrinth was always changing. One of those doors had led to the oubliette she had fallen into during her run, and she was certain, beyond any doubt, that __that__ was where she needed to be.

"I know where I have to go." She finally answered the king. "It was somewhere I ended up during my run, I'll recognise it when I see it, I know I will." She said excitedly.

Jordan was quick to counter.

"And how exactly do you plan on getting there? The labyrinth is __huge__ Sarah, and shifts around all the time; you'll lose your way the moment you step through the doors."

"No I won't!" Sarah argued with certainty. "The labyrinth __wants__ me there Jordan. It won't fight against me once I'm there. I know it won't."

"Well, if you __know__, then by all means? Lets all run off to the Unseelie kingdom, prance around the labyrinth until you magically find 'somewhere' and linger long enough for you to get your 'answers', despite the fact that you could be snatched up by the goblin army the second you set foot in their kingdom. Or, better yet, by the crazy king whose obsessed with you, and would do anything to reclaim you. But that will all be fine, because you __know__." Jordan ranted sarcastically.

Sarah glared at the boy.

"Why are you so against this?" She demanded.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt!" He yelled back harshly.

"Alright, that's enough, the pair of you." Oberon intercepted. Both Jordan and Sarah looked away from each other, each comically set in identical positions with their arms folded and their eyes glaring in opposite directions of Oberon's office.

Oberon shook his head. They almost reminded him of how he and his wife used to bicker when they were young.

"Sarah, I am not sure where this sudden urge to return to the Goblin Kingdom has come from, but I have to agree with Jordan on his points."

Sarah opened her mouth to argue but the king held up a hand.

"Just let me finish. I can see you are determined, and I understand why you would feel the need to return after what you have discovered about yourself tonight, but Jordan is correct about the risk. The Goblin King will no doubt have certain traps set in place to catch intruders, not to mention his spies, and if they find you there, if he finds you... are you willing to take that risk?"

Sarah cringed slightly at the king's words. It was true that the absolute last thing she wanted was to see Jareth again, and perhaps she was thinking recklessly about returning, but the fire in her stomach refused to settle. Ever since she had been taken, she had asked herself why. Why her? What was so special about her? __This__ was her answer. She had been dreaming about the labyrinth for __weeks__, she had let a stranger stick a giant __needle__ into her __arm__ because of this; there was no way she could just sit back and hide anymore, she needed to take action.

Strong green eyes radiated her conviction as she replied, "I am, and I know the risk is high, but I know I need to do this." And before either of the men in the room could argue with her again, she said, "and it's in your best interest to let me as well, because there is definitely something about the labyrinth that is more powerful than anyone even realises."

Oberon blinked and looked at the girl intently. Strange, he had heard those words uttered once before, deep in his youth, by an equally young Goblin King. Was it possible..?

"What makes you say that?" He asked her.

Sarah shot a brief glance in Jordan's direction before vaguely explaining. "That book we discussed a few days before you brought my family here. I have reason to believe that it is connected to the labyrinth."

Oberon's eyes widened as the weight of Sarah's claim sunk in. He stared intensely at her before looking in the direction of the library wall. __What does she..?__

"Jordan could you please excuse us. Miss Williams and I have some things we need to discuss."

O__kay, guess he doesn't know anything then.__ Sarah thought. She remembered what he said about very few people knowing about the book he had shown her. And though she recalled that Oberon had in fact told Jordan about the spell to eradicate all Unseelie fae, he apparently knew nothing about the source of that knowledge. Secrecy was key here.

Jordan looked between the two suspiciously. "But Your Majesty..."

"Do not question me Jordan. Go now." It was an order through and through.

Jordan stood from the chair in a huff, looked down at Sarah and said, "If you are dead set on going back to that place you are making a massive mistake. _I_ might not be able to talk you out of it, but just think about what your parents are going to say." And with that rather ominous remark, and one last look towards the king, Jordan stormed from the room. Oberon started talking immediately.

"What do you mean?" He demanded.

"When I was in that coma I had another dream about the labyrinth. I hadn't even really noticed how often I have been dreaming about that place until tonight. There have been so many dreams, but this one was about something that happened during my run. Vaguely. I was back in a place I landed in during my run, after I ate that damn peach and forgot everything. I think I may have lost the game if I hadn't found that book."

"What book?" Oberon asked.

"The Labyrinth. I've never told anyone. The truth, Your Majesty, is that I knew about the labyrinth and the Goblin King before I even knew he was real. When I was fourteen I found this book titled The Labyrinth. It was a story about a princess trying to save a kidnapped prince from the Goblin King. The book had everything about the labyrinth, and even gave me the words I needed to speak to defeat him in the end. If I hadn't found that book, I may never have wished Toby away, but I _would_ have lost. In my run I found that exact book when I lost my memory, and it made me remember, but in my __dream__, I dreamt about __your__ book. And there was someone there with me, telling me the two were connected. I know it sounds ludicrous and far-fetched, but just now, I dreamed about that same person, leading me back to another place I ended up during my run. It's the labyrinth, Your Majesty. It's all about the labyrinth. I don't know what I am going to find down there or what the connection between those two books really are, but there __is__ a connection.

Oberon stayed perfectly still for some time before finally saying, "So you think the labyrinth, and the spell to eradicate all Unseelie, are connected?"

"I __think__ that you might have been right all along. I __was__ meant to find a way here somehow, and that book, it gave me a link to this world before I even knew it really existed. And now I am here, but this isn't just about me and Jordan and this magical bond I was born with. I was brought to the labyrinth first, and it wants me to go back. Whatever this connection is between my book and yours I don't know, but there _is_ something there. We just have to find it."

Oberon sat back in his chair, viewing the young girl with a strange gaze. __He thinks I'm insane__, she thought distraughtly. But before she could say anymore to defend herself, Oberon stood, walking over to the wall that hid the little red book in question. Sarah thought he was going to do what he did last time and pull it from the wall, but he simply stood there, his back to her, hand clasped behind him, staring at it. Sarah practically had to strain her ears to hear what he said next.

"The spell took hundreds of years to assemble." He mumbled, mostly to himself, "Could it be possible..?"

Sarah tried not to squirm as the king's burning gaze returned to her.

"How sure are you about this?" He asked intensely. Sarah clenched her hands together in her lap.

"About what?" She asked, unsure.

"About the labyrinth and my book being connected. That book gave me, gave us, specific instructions on how to kill all of the Unseelie fae. It took years to build the spell; good men gave their lives for it. But the biggest problem was always knowing who the Unseelie fae king _was_. The spell could kill any fae if used correctly, but only if smashed at the feet of the Unseelie High King would it destroy the entire race. Are you telling me that these answers, not just the ones you seek, but the ones __I__ seek, may reside in the labyrinth's depths?"

Sarah was a little intimidated by the sheer ferocity radiating from the king before her. His wide eyes almost looked insane, and it made her want to cower, because it was a look she had seen all too often in another king; It was hunger. He was hungry for this all to be true, for everything he had worked for for so long to finally be coming to fruition. She didn't want to lie to him, but at the same time, she didn't know if it __was__ a lie. Those books __were__ connected, she was sure of it. And answers did reside in the labyrinth; it was merely a question of whether or not those answers could be of use to him.

"I... I can't guarantee you anything, Your Majesty, but I can tell you that no matter what Jordan says, or even you say, I __am__ going. The only question I really have for you, is, are you going to stop me?" She asked hesitantly.

The two stared at each other unyieldingly for the longest time before Sarah noticed the king's shoulders begin to relax. The insane spark in his eyes seemed to dull just a little as he pulled himself out of his trance. He stood regally, and said firmly.

"No Sarah. If it is truly your wish to return to the labyrinth, then I will not force you to stay." Sarah slumped in her chair in relief, "But-" she tensed again, "- I can't just let you go off alone."

And so she wasn't alone. Here she stood, with Jordan, the king, and a half dozen of his most trusted guards walking at a cautious pace around her. The border to Jareth's kingdom was but a few steps away and she was terrified. As she slowly crept forward, she squeezed the hand tightly clasped in her own, giving a quick glance in his direction before looking up. The king was indicating it was safe to proceed. Taking a deep, deep breath, she took her last final steps forward and tensed. She was back.


	20. Part Five - Chapter Five

**Part Five**

**Chapter Five**

The shuffling of boots and the heavy breathing was all the noises the group of nine were making as they quietly crept passed the border to the Goblin Kingdom. Making it this far had not been easy. Each and every member of the party had talismans to hide their magical presence from other kings, they had been hiking for days, but finally, they were here. This was a dangerous place, every one of them knew, and they were all tensed and ready, but none more so then the shaking young girl in the middle of the group of male fae.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, her body trembling; her hands were sweating, which was unfortunate for the boy whose gloved fist she was clenching in her own. She was geared up, ready for anything, as were all the men surrounding her. Oberon, his personal guard, Jordan; they were all here for her. Her and this theory of hers. She believed- no, she knew - that this, here, in the labyrinth before the Goblin City, was where she needed to be. Unfortunately, this knowledge of hers wasn't stopping her from jumping like a jittery rabbit on drugs every time she heard even so much as a twig snap. She was ready for an attack, because she wasn't so naive as to believe that this whole mission of theirs could go perfectly smoothly and off without a hitch. She knew the risks, but as she had already told Jordan a few short days ago, some things were worth taking the risk for.

_Sarah let out a sigh of complete relief upon sinking into the hot water of her bath. She could practically feel all the tension from the last two days dissolve into the soapy steaming depths as she let her body be submerged. Her mind, of course, was another matter entirely._

_As she washed herself, Sarah thought over everything that had been said in Oberon's office, her mind sticking on Jordan's negative reaction to it all. Of course she could understand his trepidation, because though she had seemed confident and unyielding, she was, in reality, scared as hell at the prospect of returning to Jareth's kingdom._

_In fact she believed wholeheartedly, that before last night, if she had had that dream, she would have completely dismissed it. But her near kidnapping had opened her eyes to something quite obvious. She couldn't just hide in Oberon's kingdom forever, as tempting as the prospect may seem. She had been right in her hysterics the first night she had been brought here; Jareth would truly stop at nothing to get her back, and she knew she would never be able to live a real life, live fully, unless something was done about him._

_The threat he posed was extraordinary, Oberon had been completely right in that respect. Not just to her and her family, but to everything. And if they were all like him, as Oberon claimed, then somehow, she just couldn't summon the necessary energy to feel tremulous about Oberon's plan to have each and every member of the Unseelie court exterminated._

_Genocide. That's what he had been proposing. What he had been hinting towards for weeks now. And she almost couldn't comprehend the sheer magnitude of it, but Oberon had lived in the Underground a lot longer then she had. He and his people had suffered far more under the plight of the Unseelie, and if Oberon truly believed that death was the only solution..._

_Sarah chewed over the argument until the water was cold. Not caring enough to re-heat it, she stepped out and wrapped her dressing gown around herself. What other option is there? She knew she was awful for supporting this action, or even simply standing by and letting it happen without raising a word of protest. It was murder, after all. All _decent_ people knew, as an unfathomable truth, that murder, that killing, was _wrong_. But it wasn't all so black and white. Before she was taken to the Goblin Kingdom, she would have had a hard time believing that any one race, or any one person, could be 'all good' or 'all evil'. It wasn't realistic. Or at least, it wouldn't have seemed so, but had any of the Unseelie in Jareth's kingdom ever stood against their king? If Jareth wasn't the perfect example, with all his prestige and power and arrogance, then she would have had to look at every other Unseelie in the kingdom. And none of them had ever installed any comfort or faith in her about their kind. In fact, before she met Jordan, she had simply been under the impression that all fae were bad. Was it really so much of a stretch to believe that just half were bad? She didn't know and the argument was getting exhausting._

And he is willing to come with me, to provide me with the best protection there is, what right do I have to dictate terms when I'm the one who wants to drag us all into a danger zone?

_She felt guilty about that, wondering if she should have fought harder against Oberon's insistence that he accompany her to the Goblin Kingdom, but she had to admit that she definitely felt less scared out of her mind at the prospect of having a fae as powerful as Oberon at her side if she was going to go back to that hell._

_Suffice to say, she was a tad conflicted on all counts._

_A forceful knock on the door lifted her from her musings. Securing the dressing gown more tightly around herself, she padded to the door and reached for the handle only to remember that the last person she did such a thing for, had been involved in her kidnapping. Suddenly more timid, she opened the door only a crack, and flushed a sudden shining red when confronted with who was on the other side._

_Jordan stood with half a fist raised, ready to knock again when she answered. Sarah only kept the door open a little, shielding her body from sight as she surveyed the boy before her. He looked agitated, and conflicted, and still just as angry as he had been when he had stormed from Oberon's office. She let out a small sigh, nowhere near in the mood for more arguments. Why did everyone seem to want to wait until she was bone-tired before springing themselves on her?_

_"We need to talk." He said without preamble, his eyes boring into the small part of her he could see through the cracked door. It had definitely sounded more like a command then a request._

_Sarah sighed, "Can this wait until morning?" She asked tiredly._

_Jordan's eyes hardened. "No. It can't." He replied sternly, placing a firm hand on the door and giving it a hard push, forcing her back._

_Jordan had been furious upon leaving Oberon's study, so furious he had actually stopped to down a few glasses of whisky before marching himself to the rooms he knew were harbouring Sarah's family, with the full intention of appealing to their sanity to force Sarah to stop being so stupid. But he had only got as far as the door before hesitating. As angry as he was, he knew it wouldn't be right to involve them in this himself. He didn't want to do anything to tear at the seams of a family that had been separated for so long; and, more importantly, he didn't want Sarah to hate him. He needed to remind himself that a man attempting to take over her life and make all her decisions for her was the reason she had been put through so much suffering in the first place, and he knew how much she despised him for it. Somewhere deep in his soul he knew he would crumble if she ever looked at him with even half the loathing she showed when discussing the Goblin King, and he didn't want to be just another person who had failed her. Still just because he couldn't dictate her actions, didn't mean he couldn't try to talk her out of them, and with that thought in mind, had stalked right back down the corridor towards Sarah's chamber._

She should be back by now, and I have to make her understand how dangerous this is. What she's risking. She's my friend. I don't want to lose her.

_He had fully expected to be in for a fight, and was ready for one, which was why he was suddenly taken over by such bashful embarrassment when he took in Sarah's attire, or lack thereof. Sarah quickly adjusted the dressing gown rope tighter around herself, pulling the fabric around her like a coat of armour and glowering at the fae before her. _Oh geez, I'm practically naked! Could this get any more embarrassing?!

_"Well?!" She demanded, her tone making Jordan redirect his eyes back to the only place, in Sarah's opinion, his eyes had any right to be on her body. "You had something to say?" She inquired sarcastically._

_Jordan lowered his eyes in a sudden bout of nervousness. He hadn't been expecting her to be barely clothed, and was becoming increasingly uncomfortable by the minute. "I can come back later..." he half stammered, and made a move towards the door, but Sarah blocked his path. Taking two steps towards it she harshly slammed it shut. The bang startled the both of them, but Sarah refused to back down. She stood like a guard dog, tall and menacing, and ready for combat. "No. You came here, you forced yourself in. If you have something that desperate to say, then say it." She commanded._

_If he hadn't been so uncomfortable, Jordan might have enjoyed her behaviour. Now wholly grateful he had knocked back a few drinks before he came by, he clumsily responded, "You're being an idiot."_

_Sarah's reply was sudden and harsh. "Thanks." She sneered, one hand blindly locating the door handle behind her, she opened it and made an obvious gesture of dismissal, "Feel free to show yourself out."_

_"No, you... you need to listen."_

_"I did, 'I'm an idiot', remember? Now, please." She huffed, gesturing to the open doorway again._

_"Sarah, please... what you're planning on doing..."_

_Sarah agitatedly kicked the door closed, taking a step closer to Jordan, glowering, "Believe it or not Jordan, I know what I am doing. I'm a big girl and I can make my own decisions. And you not only have absolutely no say in what I do, but have no right to tell me what I can do, so, with that in mind, please, what do you want to say?" She demanded in a deadly voice._

_Jordan took another step back. Through her small speech she had been advancing on him and he had had no other instinct but to back away from the menacing expression on her face. He had never seen her like this, so angry._

_"What's wrong? Why are you..?"_

_"Why am I what?!" Sarah practically screamed, feeling, for no reason at all, like punching something, preferably Jordan's perfectly symmetrical face. "Why am I finally standing up for myself? Gee Jordan, I don't know, maybe I have simply had enough of everyone around me trying to control me. Of everyone thinking they know what's best for me without even asking. I'm angry Jordan! Do you think I _like_ the idea of going back to the Goblin Kingdom?! I fucking _hate_ that place, but I need to go and no one is going to stop me! So if that's why your here, than leave, because I am in no mood for another lecture on what I'm doing wrong!"_

_With that, and without even looking at him, Sarah dumped herself down on the bed with an angry huff and glared at the floor petulantly. She was acting like a brat and she knew it, but she was so tired. Both physically and emotionally, and, whatever it was about him, he always made her feel more emotional. She waited for the sound of his footsteps retreating, or the door opening, but what she actually heard after a few moments of silence was a small sigh, and the sound of light scraping against the wooden floors._

_Sarah raised tired, red rimmed eyes to the sight of Jordan practically flopping into a chair he had dragged closer to her bed. She watched discreetly as he ran a hand down the length of his face, looking every bit as tired as she felt._

_They sat in silence for a few more moments before Jordan yielded a small, "I'm sorry."_

_Sarah wanted to groan. The truth was she really didn't know what to think of him anymore. She wanted so badly to hold on to her frustration and anger, but around him it almost seemed an impossible task. She had meant what she said. She was so tired of people trying to make all her decisions for her. Having something as simple as choices stolen from her made her feel incredibly weak and helpless, and it had been happening for so long she just wanted to scream out her frustrations. This trip, this idea to return to the Goblin Kingdom, it was wholly hers. Her choice, her decision, and without being influenced by anyone she knew it was something she needed to do. And she was scared, but she wasn't backing down, or letting anyone else tell her that she couldn't do it._

_And that was exactly what he was trying to do. She looked at the boy before her; he had made vital decisions for her, took incredibly important decisions away from her, and did things to her without her consent._

_And cared about her._

_It was times like this she wished they could have met under normal circumstances. Or anything that qualified as normal in this backwards world. He was so nice, sweet, kind, compassionate, caring. To be hit with all of that, after a year of nothing but the Goblin King, it was no wonder her emotions were haywire where he was concerned. Maybe that was why she wanted to stay angry with him, for anything. She knew it was a bad idea to __heroise __him; she couldn't be too dependent on him, she was already dependent enough. He was a good friend, but sometimes she caught herself... thinking about him. More than usual and it terrified her. It made her sad that she knew for a fact she would never be capable of having a regular normal relationship with anyone ever again. What the Goblin King had done, the way he had abused her, for so long: it had made her feel worthless. Used up and good for nothing. Romance was officially off the table for her. Forever. But she still couldn't stop herself from thinking..._

_No. Enough was enough. She couldn't let him dictate her actions, even if he really did care for nothing but her safety. She couldn't keep leaning on people and expecting everyone else to fix her problems for her. That's what her desire to return to the Goblin Kingdom was about. She desperately needed to stand on her own two feet, now more than ever. So many nights spent crying into a pillow. Now, she needed to toughen up, especially for what she sensed was coming._

_Jordan rubbed the back of his neck and Sarah ran her fingers through her wet hair, each looking for something to do to make themselves appear occupied and less nervous in each other's company. Finally, after waiting for her reply, and receiving none, Jordan once again broke the silence._

_"I really didn't mean for it to sound like I was trying to control you Sarah. I would never want to do that, and I know how much you hate it, but I really think we should talk about this plan of yours. Even if you don't want to change your mind, you have to at least concede that it's dangerous."_

_Sarah puffed out her cheeks in a huff, he sounded almost... shy. So desperate not to start another fight. She looked over to him, sighing tiredly. "Of course I know it's dangerous Jordan. It's the Goblin Kingdom. But that doesn't change what I need to do." She said resolutely._

_"Which is what?"_

_"I just need answers Jordan." She squealed as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I told you this in Oberon's office, I need to know that everything that's happened, everything that happened in that place... that it wasn't all just some random, horrible, uncontrollable sequence of events. I need to know that there was a reason behind all of that pain. I just... _need to know_."_

_"And if there's not?" Jordan asked. Sarah brought her hands together and rested her forehead against them in a self-recognised gesture of defeat._

_"Then I need to know that to." Came her quiet reply._

_In truth, Jordan had his own suspicions as to why she was trying so hard to push this 'visit' to the Goblin Kingdom. He didn't want to judge her for it, and he half blamed Oberon for sticking the idea in her head, but he also had no idea how to approach the topic of it with her. She looked exhausted, and so was he, neither of them having had any sleep since the night before last, but he didn't want to leave her like this._

_He hated the idea of losing her to the Goblin King again, and, even she had to admit, the chances of that happening should she go gallivanting off into his kingdom were pretty high. Even if Oberon himself was there with her. Due to the way things were when he was ordered out of the office, and the fact that she seemed even more determined than before, it wasn't difficult to deduce that the High King had offered to accompany her, and though that should have made Jordan feel better, it didn't. He was protective of his new friend, he couldn't help it. She was the first one in his life he had ever been able to give the title of 'friend' before. They were bonded by so much more than simple blood magic, and the need to be with her and keep her safe was never going to go away. It was a biological imperative as much as it was simple emotional affection, and the idea of watching her go without trying his hardest to make her see his side of things, was unbearable._

_"What did Oberon want you for, earlier? Why did he take you out of the office?" She asked, genuine curiosity mixing with her need to grab at any conversation that would de-fuse the awkwardness._

_Jordan was confused as to her meaning for a second before realisation hit him, suddenly feeling agitated, he gave her a half-shouldered shrug and replied, "It was nothing to be concerned of. Just something to do with my father."_

_"Your father?" Came her intrigued reply._

_Jordan's gaze suddenly settled on Sarah's dark, damp hair, not wishing to look into her eyes as he spoke._

_"Oberon received a message from one of the spies he has in an Unseelie Kingdom close to Jareth's, apparently; my father is in some... trouble... because of what I did down there."_

_"I forgot you mentioned your father was with you. He's in trouble because you took me?" The concern in her voice made Jordan's chest clench, but he continued on with a look of indifference._

_"Yeah, well, I'd say, a little more than... trouble." He muttered._

_Seeing Sarah's increasingly confused expression Jordan hunched forwards in the chair and stared at his feet, his voice held an old rusty sound to it as he quickly admitted, "Jareth has sentenced him to death."_

_Sarah gasped, "What!"_

_Jordan looked back up at the horrified girl and nodded bluntly. He didn't look distraught, or even upset: simply understanding._

_"He was apparently charged with fraternisation of the enemy and assisted treason. He was sentenced a few days ago, but the king we worked for in the Marshlands just surrendered his last appeal for his life. My father is set to die in two weeks' time, by hanging."_

_Sarah was appalled by the news, but even more so by the stoic way in which Jordan delivered the news. She knew he didn't have the best, most functional relationship with his father, but she would have expected the news of a parent being put to death would at least have _some_ effect on him._

_He looked completely indifferent. His body relaxed and his voice even as though they were discussing something mundane and every day._

_"You're not upset?" She asked wearily._

_He shrugged a shoulder, leaning back in his chair. "Why would I be?"_

_"I don't know, maybe because he's your father, or because he's being executed for something _we_ did!" Sarah questioned shrilly. She should have known Jareth would pull something like this. Of course he would look for someone, anyone, to blame for her disappearance, she just never considered that it might be Jordan's father paying the price. She looked at the young fae, knowing his air of indifference _had_ to be an act. Even though she didn't understand why he would be masking his true feelings. Particularly from _her_. They had shared everything with each other, more or less; in the short time they had known one another. It hadn't been more than three months since they met, but it already felt like a lifetime._

_Jordan shook his head at her, levelling her panicked gaze._

_"You shouldn't think like that Sarah. Don't take what's happening to him on your shoulders like it's _your_ burden to bear. There's nothing we can do, and even if there was, I'm not so sure I would intervene anyway."_

_Sarah blanched at his coldness. The caring, affectionate boy she had come to know these past few weeks seemed completely invisible when he talked of his father. His bright eyes were dimmed, his face impassive; it was as though he really didn't care. Like he couldn't care less._

_Sarah shivered when she realised that what she had been thinking earlier, about putting everyone up on a mantle of 'all good' or 'all evil' was, in fact, stupid. Jordan wasn't completely innocent and good any more then _she_ was. They both had issues. They both had violent pasts and held hatred for others, and though it was extremely difficult for Sarah to even consider hating a parent as such, _her_ father loved her. She had no idea about Jordan's father, after all, she had never met him, but from Jordan's stories about his childhood she had to conclude that Jordan had every right to hate him._

But, there's a difference between hating someone and wanting them dead. Did he really mean what he said about not doing anything to help him even if he could? Could he really live with himself if he did _nothing_?

_Sarah nibbled on her lip and looked over at her friend, who, it seemed, was doing everything to avoid her gaze, paying an extra special interest in the laces on his boots._

_"Are you sure you can't?"_

_Jordan didn't remove his gaze from his shoes, "Can't what?"_

_"Can't do anything. I mean, if Oberon is willing to go into the Goblin Kingdom for me, why not ask him if he'd be willing to help you."_

_That got his attention. He slowly rose his eyes back up at the dark haired girl, to find she, like himself, was avoiding his gaze, choosing instead to stare at her hair as she absently ran her fingers through the knots. He watched her movements for a few moments before coughing out a quiet, "No."_

_"Why not?" Her voice was strained, as though she were trying desperately not to raise it._

_He shrugged again, crossing his legs over the other, "I won't ask him to save my father Sarah, please just leave it alone."_

_Shivering slightly at his coldness, she looked away and catching a glimpse of her pillow, she ended up staring at it longingly. Shuffling over to plump it up, she didn't look back as she said, "well, if that's all, then I really must insist on you leaving now. I'm pretty tired, and I have a feeling I'll only get to sleep for a few hours before my parents wake up."_

_Jordan raised his head so fast it made him dizzy. She was dismissing him, just like that, and he felt a sudden unpleasant jab of panic at the tone of which her voice had taken. She sounded... disappointed. In him._

_He simply couldn't let it stay._

_"I... I wasn't finished talking." He practically squealed._

_Sarah sighed. "If all you're going to do is continue to try to convince me not to go to the labyrinth, then you may as well save your breath. Oberon agreed to take me, and I'm sure it won't be long before we end up leaving. But right now I'm tired, so..." Her voice trailed. Not even looking at him, she waved a hand in the direction of the door. Jordan didn't move._

_"Are you mad at me?" He questioned in a truly astonished tone. She didn't even look back at him as she dully replied, "of course not."_

_"Then why are you..?" He couldn't finish his speech and didn't need to. When Sarah turned to face him, she looked every bit as though she hadn't slept in days, on top of the adrenaline rush of almost being kidnapped, and the blow to her psyche upon discovering she wasn't human anymore, it had been an eventful two days, and this conversation on top of everything else that had happened was just too much. Either way, she was too tired to use a filter._

_She said what was on her mind._

_"I just think I may have had... over-ambitious expectations of you. And Oberon. Everyone here really. This place is so nice, compared to being in the Goblin Kingdom. And Oberon treats me so different, I think I let it all blind me into thinking that everything here was going to be perfect and everyone was going to be saints. I should have realised from the start that nothing is perfect, especially not people, and that your all... a lot more like me... then I thought."_

_"What do you mean, 'like you?'" He sounded dumbfounded._

_"Exactly what I said; flawed. I guess thinking that all Seelie fae were good and all Unseelie were bad kind of made me feel better about accepting Oberon's plan to exterminate them all, but I guess... I'm getting a little more conflicted about that now."_

_Jordan simply stared before he quickly countered, "Are you saying you... don't support Oberon's plan to vanquish the Unseelie?"_

_Sarah imitated his earlier actions by giving a one shoulder shrug. Dejectedly she replied. "There's nothing I can do about it. It's none of my business really; I guess I was just... trying too hard to justify his actions before, that I was blinded by what it all really means. If Oberon thinks it's for the best, I have no right to oppose that decision, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."_

_The silence was heavy before Jordan asked, "Where exactly is this coming from?"_

_Sarah once again found a lot more interest in her wet hair._

_"It's none of my business."_

_"Sarah. Tell me."_

_Her hesitation was pregnant before she spoke softly, "What you just said about your father Jordan, about even if you could stop it, you would let him die. That was... cold. I know that you hate him for what he did to you, and your mother, but the way I was raised... I just... It doesn't seem _right_ to me."_

_Jordan was offended by her words. Outraged, he snarled defensively; "Oh, like you're not exactly the same!"_

_His tone was enough to turn her head, and she looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean?"_

_"What do I mean?" He let out a harsh little laugh. "Tell me Sarah, if someone was about to kill Jareth and you could save him, even if saving him would come to an incredible risk to your own safety, and even the safety of other people you cared about, would you do it?"_

_Sarah's eyes widened, her skin blanched and her stomach dropped. "That's... different." She breathlessly defended, practically gasping for air._

_Jordan's defensive scowl didn't change. "How?" He sneered._

_"Because... because... because Jareth isn't my _family_!" She spluttered, not believing for a second that the conversation had taken such a wild turn. She hadn't meant for him to become so confrontational. No, she didn't like what she was seeing before her at all._

_"And you think _that_ is an excuse?! You think I don't know the real reason you're so desperate to go back to the Goblin Kingdom Sarah? Or why you're dragging Oberon in there with you-"_

_"-I am not dragging Oberon with me, he practically jumped on the idea of taking me there, I had nothing to do with it!" She loudly deflected, defensively._

_Jordan was taken aback by that news for only a moment. The fact that the High King was so eager to travel to the Goblin Kingdom was odd. Odd and suspicious. But he filed the fact away for later, sticking to the argument at hand._

_"Even if that's so, He's still accompanying you, and you, knowing full well that the second you step foot in Jareth's kingdom your practically giving him an open target on you, I think I know exactly what you want!"_

_"And what _exactly_ is that?" She questioned, matching his hostility, curious as to where exactly he was taking this._

_"I think your _hoping_ for a fight. You're still angry and you know there's more than just a chance of Jareth showing up if you all go poking around in his kingdom. I believe you when you say that this eagerness to be there is about your dreams, and you really do want to know what they mean, but I also believe that this is about forcing a confrontation. About the hope that in a desperate situation, Oberon and Jareth will fight and you're betting everything on the hope that Oberon will win and take care of Jareth for you!"_

_Stunned._

_That would be the correct word for Sarah's reaction to his accusation._

_She hadn't..._

_No, that hadn't been what she was..._

_Even in her own head she was having a difficult time denying the forcefulness behind Jordan's words, but before she could even attempt to refute them, Jordan was speaking again._

_"You say that you're having 'second thoughts' about Oberon's plan to rid this world of all the Unseelie, but in reality, its Oberon's obsession with destroying all of the Unseelie that you're banking on. That if he and Jareth fight, he will win because of how much he hates them, all of them, for what they did to his family. You want to use him, so you have no right to judge him! Or me!"_

_Sarah regarded the huffing, angry, breathless boy before her for almost ten very charged, silent minutes. His words had hit her deep, right to the core, and even she couldn't tell how much of them were lies or truth. The possibility of Oberon and Jareth fighting had truly not even occurred to her, but now that the idea was sticking, she couldn't seem to pry it out. It was true what she told him, Oberon hadn't needed any prompting at all to accompany her to the Goblin Kingdom, in fact, he had seemed almost eager at the notion. Forcing a fight hadn't been her intention, it truly hadn't, but the rest of what he had said... He was right. She was conflicted about Oberon's plan to kill all the Unseelie and yet the thought of him killing Jareth for her left her with nothing but joy._

_She felt a wave of disgust charge through her, the likes of which she hadn't experienced since being free of Jareth's touch. All the times she had wished him dead while being wrapped in his embrace. All the daydreams she had had about some faceless stranger coming to save her. Busting down the door of her tiny little cell and whisking her away, somewhere where that evil bastard could never contaminate her with his touch again. Jordan was right; she _did_ want him dead, and not just because she knew it was the only way to end this. Part of it was maliciously motivated. She wanted to watch him suffer for what he had done. Stripping her of her innocence, her freedom, her life. She had felt so suffocated in that place she was surprised at how willing she truly was to march right back down there. Maybe _this _was the reason._

_Jordan was right, she was being hypocritical. She was being judgemental. She was being unfair. But he was wrong about one thing..._

_Sarah took a deep, deep breath of the frigid air between them before finally speaking in a low voice, trying to bite back the tears._

_"Jordan, I guess you're right. I have been supportive of Oberon's plans up until now because, for me, this isn't about the whole of the Unseelie. This is about one man. One man who is making it his sole purpose in life to ruin mine. And I know how conceded that makes me sound, trust me, I do. I already told you that I wasn't judging you, or Oberon, because your right, I have no right to. I _do_ want him dead. I want him dead because he won't stop. Not unless someone _stops_ him. But you're wrong if you think that my wanting to go back to his kingdom is all about him, because it's not. This is about me. Finding out exactly what it is I am, what I'm supposed to be. This is important to me, and you're also wrong for assuming that all I want to do while I'm there is cower behind Oberon while he does everything for me. I am sick of cowering. I am sick of not being able to keep myself - or my family - safe. Apparently I have great power, and if going to the Goblin Kingdom can finally teach me how to use that power, use it to protect my family, all of us, then that is why I will not back down."_

_There was a true, strained, harsh conviction behind her, but Jordan just couldn't let it go._

_"Your family is safe here."_

_"Like _I'm_ safe here?"_

_Jordan looked down at her quick rebuke. She had solid ground to stand on and he knew it. Oberon had promised to keep her safe and she had been taken; now he suspected the king was attempting to compensate his mistake by indulging her and this quest she was so keen to go on. He had come here with the intent to talk her out of it, but he was sure as hell doing a lousy bloody job so far._

_"You were saved." He said half-heartedly, but Sarah was already retorting._

_"Because of _you_, because of _us_, because of this binding thing we have, because you knew that I was scared and you couldn't feel me in the castle. But Jordan, what if it hadn't been me, what if those fae had taken _Toby_? What are the chances any of us would have known what was happening until it was too late? And make no mistake, Jordan; if they had taken Toby to Jareth I would have ripped right through his kingdom after him, wrath of the king be dammed."_

_She sighed heavily, touching her cool hand to her hot face in an attempt to sooth herself._

_"As for what Oberon wants to do, I'm conflicted. When he was talking about killing all of the Unseelie I was still so angry with Jareth over what he had done, I would have approved practically anything just for the chance to see him burned at the stake. But this isn't my call. I feel horrible, and I feel even more horrible for not feeling worse! Fundamental truth, killing is wrong, and yeah, in my darkest moments as the Goblin King's prisoner, I didn't wish for _my_ freedom, I wished for _his_ death. Maybe that makes me a horrible person, or not even a person at all, fine. But going back to Jareth's Kingdom has nothing to do with any of that. I can't just hide behind powerful men forever, hoping that all my problems will just go away. If I want to fix my life, it's up to me. And that is what going to the Goblin Kingdom is really about. Believe me, everything you said, it makes a twisted kind of sense, but it doesn't change anything. Sometimes, things are worth taking the risk for, and finding a way to free my family from that heartless bastard is just one of many. So I'm going, and there is nothing more you can say or do that will stop me."_

_Sarah felt as if her whole body were going to explode she was brimming with such tension. Her chest was heaving and her knees were weak. At some point in her rant she had stood, and now found herself staring down at the boy in the chair who she now realised wasn't even looking back at her. His gaze was stamped on something he hadn't seen in a while. Sarah looked down to see what he was staring at and saw that, upon standing, the dressing gown had drifted apart, revealing the small metal cuff circling her right ankle. She turned a deep deep red and hastily covered it over with the fabric, turning away from it in shame. Jordan looked back up to see her looking away, her eyes closed and her face scrunched as though she were trying her hardest not to cry._

_It was then he believed he realised the true meaning of what it was she had been saying. It was quite easy for him to forget what she had been put through sometimes, after all, all anyone had to do was see her with her brother to think she was nothing more than a happy, carefree, ordinary young girl. But clearly it was not so easy for her to simply let go. While she was free from Jareth's kingdom, she could never truly be free from _him_. That cuff around her ankle would serve as a constant reminder of her status as a slave, and of the man who made her into a slave._

_He remembered what Oberon had said about the thing being permanent, and thought of how terribly cruel a fate it must be to have such a reminder of a terrible past be such an eternal, obvious fixture on her body. She probably couldn't even bring herself to look at it. Her own body._

_He knew than that he had been stupid to assume it would be as easy for her to hide from her past as it had been for him. Being with her made him so happy it was difficult at times to remember why he had joined this fight, but hiding from her past couldn't have been easy when she had that nice little reminder staring back at her every single day._

_And that was the truth of it. Why she truly wanted to return to the Goblin Kingdom; she was trying to re-gain the control she clearly felt she had lost. And, he supposed, if that was her motivation, it was truly futile to try to convince her to stay. She didn't _want_ to stay. She didn't _want_ to hide._

_Jordan stood from his chair, reaching out slowly; he softly cupped her cheek with his right hand and brought her misty gaze back to his. The look on her face told him she was tired of fighting. Looking deeply into her misty eyes, he asked one last time._

_"Are you sure about this?"_

_Not trusting herself to speak, the mortified girl simply nodded._

_He sighed._

_"Then I'm not going to let you go in there alone."_

And she wasn't alone, even though she was still frightened and nervous, having both Jordan and Oberon alongside her, willing to stand with her, was a huge weight off her shoulders. Her parents had been even more difficult to convince, but in the end, they, just as Jordan, conceded this was something she needed to do for herself. She had heard multiple times in the past that in order to overcome ones fear, one has to first confront that fear. And she was afraid. She had spent so much time longing to leave this place, but here she was; embracing her fear.

No matter what happened, she vowed to herself that she _would_ walk away from this in one piece.

"See, look what's happening." The king observed quietly, as the group of nine silently marched their way past the border of the Goblin Kingdom.

He was right, Sarah could feel it to, the walls of the labyrinth, once tall and unyielding, seemed to be bending and shifting for them as they marched their way through. It was as though it knew exactly where the group wanted to go, and was carving a path just for them.

Many of the king's soldiers walked in awe through the maze, all of them having read and heard of the power of the land they were now standing on. Jordan, also, was casting his eyes around in admiration. The power of this place could almost be felt radiating from it, and though it was dark, and almost full night, this epic structure was still completely breath-taking.

"It's opening a path for us." Jordan whispered, receiving a nod in confirmation from the king as they continued to walk quietly. He had been sceptical of Oberon's confidence in the labyrinth's allegiance to Sarah, it's supposed 'queen', but now he thought he understood. The labyrinth's walls were moving and straightening, as though beckoning them to follow its direction. For any other intruders, he was sure it would have shut down completely. But not for them.

Sarah was almost struck dumb by how different it felt being here than the last time she had braved these walls. It had been over four years, but she would have remembered if it had felt like this, and it most certainly hadn't. Her body was humming. The only problem they knew for certain they would have when they got here was knowing where to go. She knew what she was looking for, thanks to her dreams, but she did not know how to find it. It seemed, though, that the labyrinth did. It was as though the walls, the earth, the very ground beneath her feet were reading her mind, anticipating her needs. Branches were flattening, jagged, sharp stones in the ground were levelling out and the walls were practically humming with approval that she was here. It wasn't just showing her the way, it was welcoming her home.

"Stay alert." The king's voice cut sharply through the awe. "The labyrinth still has goblin spies, make sure you keep your eyes open for anyone that could give away our position."

All the guards nodded silently in unison, snapping out of the daze. Their job was to protect the king and his companions, and they would do their job or die trying.

After another hour of walking, the sky had become fully dark, and the small group found themselves in a forest. Sarah shivered slightly at the memory of her meeting with the Fire Gang the last time she was in woods similar to this. Jordan rubbed his thumb over her hand he was clutching in an attempt to comfort her, causing a completely different kind of shiver to overcome the both of them as Oberon's voice rang out, quiet but firm.

"Alright, we'll make camp here for the night, and continue on in the morning. We'll need to take turns keeping watch. I'll take the first shift. I know its cold, but don't light any fires; we don't want anything to alert anyone to our presence here."

Jordan watched as some of the guards immediately began making camp on the forest floor, he looked questioningly at the king.

"Wouldn't it be best just to keep moving until we find the place she dreamed about?" He asked, his gaze going momentarily to Sarah, who looked as though she might have been thinking the same thing.

Oberon looked a tad frustrated at Jordan's question, quickly rummaging through his bag. His own sleeping gear, which consisted of one thick stray blanket, appeared rolled up in his arms.

"No Jordan; its dark, and we've been hiking for most of the day. I think it best that we all get some rest so that we are prepared at daybreak tomorrow."

"But we'll be more vulnerable during the day, shouldn't we just keep moving and..."

"Exactly, we'll be more vulnerable, so it will be better if we are rested and ready for an attack rather than being tired and getting clumsy." His voice was firm and final, but Jordan suspected something strange was going on under the surface. He looked over at Sarah, who was staring between them as though confused by their conflict.

"What do you think?" Jordan asked her.

The king turned to stare at her also and she fidgeted at being put on the spot. She was still incredibly grateful to the king for coming here with her, and for bringing so many, heavily armed, well trained soldiers. She believed she would have had the courage to come here alone if needed, but she definitely felt less consumed with terror being surrounded by other people who would help protect her. She looked at the guards, most of whom weren't paying any attention to the three of them. They _had_ been hiking for days; it was true, taking backroads and hidden paths through different Unseelie kingdoms to remain undetected. They did look tired, and it was late. While the idea of closing her eyes long enough to simply blink in this place made her edgy, she agreed with the king. They could all use some rest.

"Were all tired Jordan and I don't think it would do any good to try and trek through the dark. A few hours of sleep isn't going to kill us." _Hopefully_.

Jordan sagged his shoulders and nodded, giving up the argument in favour of pulling his own sleeping gear free from his satchel bag. Sarah looked over at the king, and noticed just the briefest flash of triumph in his eyes before he turned away.

_Okay, what was _that_ about?_

She shook her head; she was too stressed out about everything else to worry about fighting. Now that the king mentioned it, she _was_ pretty tired. Her body wasn't at all use to such strenuous activity, and sleep sounded pretty damn good right now.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

The lightest snapping of branches brought Sarah from her slumber with her heart in her throat. She cast around, frantic, expecting to see goblins, or even their king, but instead saw no one. The sun was only just starting to rise, and it was still pretty dark, but it was clear that no other in the clearing had been alerted by the noise. All the guards slept soundly, though their bodies still seemed to be tensed, even in sleep. Jordan, who was closest to her, was also sound asleep, looking peaceful and undisturbed by her panic.

_Breathe Sarah._ She instructed herself as she allowed her body to relax once more. She was in a half sitting position, slightly sprawled on a thick blanket she had laid out on the forest floor. It was odd, but in keeping with her understanding that the labyrinth was reacting to her being there, the spot she had chosen to lay her blanket down on was a completely soft flat piece of earth. Unlike Jordan, who had complained about branches and roots sticking into his thighs for about ten minutes before he finally got comfortable enough to sleep, Sarah's spot was as comfortable as a patch of earth could possibly be. It was strange. The labyrinth was the last place she would ever have thought she would wish to be, but it appeared that _it_ wanted _her_ there. Quite a bit.

She was just about to settle back down when she realised that there indeed was something off about their camp. They had all set up in a kind of circle, so they all had each other's back should they be attacked, but someone was missing. Sarah squinted through the early morning fog to try and figure it out. She counted all six of the guards, and Jordan, dozing beside her, but... where was Oberon?

She shakily stood, casting her eyes about for him, but saw nothing. The last she saw, he had been sitting under a thick fur blanket, leaning against a tree, telling Jordan to stop fussing and get some rest. But he wasn't there now.

_Hmmm._

She contemplated calling for him, but with everyone around her so on edge, she knew calling out would only be met with a lot of alarm and unnecessary panic. She took a few steps forward, before contemplating on how bad of an idea it was to simply stroll away from the protection of camp.

In the murky, early morning darkness she strained to see the figure of the king anywhere in the clearing surrounding them. Her view was obstructed by many trees and small banks and she couldn't see him anywhere. He had said he would be keeping watch. Where had he gone?

Taking one cautious look back at the sleeping bodies, she crept forward, her mind solely on her desire to find the High King. Biting her lip, she focused as hard as she could on his face and suddenly felt a familiar vibrating course through her. She saw, right before her eyes, one of the grass covered banks literally lower itself, as though getting sucked into the ground by quicksand. She took a frantic step back in fear only to feel the soft vibrating again. Soothing her. Encouraging her. Telling her it was alright; it would keep her safe.

She walked forward, slowly at first; looking behind her every few steps to see if the camp was still in sight. She didn't know where she was walking but figured the labyrinth would do all the navigating for her. She followed the path that was literally opening itself up for her, until she lost sight of camp completely. Nervous, and still a little fearful, she considered simply turning back around, until she caught the faint outline of someone. Reacting quickly, she dove behind a tree, silently poking her nose out from her hiding place only to observe the figure. It looked like the king, but she couldn't be sure. He was shrouded in early morning darkness and a haze of mist, but the more she focused on him, the more his image seemed to clear. He was crouched towards the ground, his back to her, and from her position she couldn't see exactly what it was he was doing. He was moving his arm, as though running his fingers through the soil, but Sarah couldn't be sure. Why had he left camp? What was he doing out here, by himself?

Deciding to make her presence known, she quietly stepped away from the tree, taking a few steps back so it looked as though she had just entered the area, she timidly called, "Your Majesty?"

Oberon's reaction was instant. He jumped, physically jumped, pounced to his feet and spun around, the panic consuming his face making Sarah's eyes widen in surprise. She jumped back at the suddenness of his movements and held her hands up in surrender.

"Your Majesty, it's me." She whispered loudly.

Oberon's face quickly turned from shock, to recognition, to calm. Though for some reason, the calm seemed oddly forced to her. From this distance she could see the king had one arm behind his back, as though trying to conceal something, but hastily pretended not to notice. She didn't want to admit to spying on him, but she was incredibly curious as to exactly what she was looking at.

"Sarah." He breathed, taking a small step forward and suddenly stopping. His other arm swung around to his back, as though attempting to cover up the suspicious action, trying to appear casual.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked her, in what she suspected was supposed to be a reassuring tone, but for some reason, she sensed a slither of hostility. Accusation.

"I was just... worried. I woke up and you weren't at camp. I was afraid something might have happened to you. This place can be dangerous and I just wanted... I wanted to make sure you were alright." She told him honestly, though omitting the part where she had been watching him without his knowledge. As absurd as it was, she didn't want to get into trouble.

"Ahh-" The king hummed, his tense stance relaxing. His hands were still behind his back, and Sarah noticed that his chest was puffed out slightly, as though he were trying to cover up his action with posturing.

"Well, you needn't worry dear. I am well aware of the dangers that lurk in this place, and am more than capable of defending myself should the moment require it. Now, we should both head back to camp, I can only imagine the conniption young Jordan would have if he were to awaken to find you gone."

Sarah blushed, and had a nagging suspicion he was trying to distract her, maybe force what she had just seen out of her mind, but the truth was she had no idea what it was she had just witnessed. He had been crouching in the dirt, far from camp, and it was obvious he did not think that he would be caught or disturbed, judging by the pure shock she had seen on his face when she had called out to him. Something wasn't right.

Not wanting to draw attention to her sudden suspicions of him, she nodded and turned to walk back the way she came. Footsteps behind her indicated he was following, and it wasn't long before he was walking beside her. As discreetly as possible, she looked down and saw his arms were now both firmly at his sides.

_He must have put whatever he was hiding away while my back was turned._

She desperately wanted to know what it was, or why he would feel the need to hide something in the first place, but she knew she couldn't ask him that directly. _Perhaps a more subtle approach?_

"May I ask what you were doing out there Your majesty?" She questioned lightly, not to pushy. She didn't want him to feel like she was interrogating him.

"Pardon? Oh, I was simply inspecting our perimeter dear. I thought I heard a noise and went to investigate, though, I admit, I became rather swept up in appreciating the ambience when you found me." He spoke so lightly and comfortingly no one would suspect him of lying.

Okay, now Sarah was confused. Could he be telling the truth? She did remember hearing a branch snap before she woke up. Maybe he really wasn't doing anything suspect.

_But what was he doing crouched over the dirt? And what was he hiding behind his back?_

_Maybe this place is just making me paranoid._

By the time they got back to camp, several of the men had begun to stir. Sarah looked up at the sky through the mask of leafless branches, and saw that it had to be verging on early morning by the position of the sun. It was still pretty late in the winter, so it wouldn't be fully daylight for a few hours. Now was the perfect time to start moving again, while they still had some cover to hide under.

The king must have felt the same way, because he proceeded to roust the members of his party while she handled Jordan. Apparently, he was a pretty heavy sleeper, and didn't jump into action until she finally lost her patience and sharply poked him in the side. He jumped up, his sleepy eyes droopy and confused, his light hair a mess and a damp brown leaf stuck to the side of his cheek. Sarah couldn't help but giggle.

An hour later, they were back in the maze, having trekked through quite a lot of forest and greenery. The group moved together quietly, Oberon at the front leading the way. Strange, the complete faith he seemed to have in the labyrinth's devotion to her. He was entirely willing to believe that the labyrinth would not lead them astray, it was confusing. She still couldn't get the incident from that morning out of her head, but she hadn't mentioned it to anyone. She considered saying something to Jordan, but had not been unaffected by how out of his way Jordan seemed to have gone to pick a fight with the king the night before. In fact, he had been oddly confrontational with Oberon since he had joined her mission and agreed to accompany her to the Goblin Kingdom. It seemed his blind admiration for the king was slowly dwindling, and Sarah suspected it was about something more than the king agreeing - insisting - on accompanying her here.

While they walked, Sarah couldn't help but notice the way the King was looking at the place. He was ready and cautious of an attack, as was everyone, but the way he was staring; it was almost... awe filled. It was the same look he had had when they had first entered the maze, and last night when he had mentioned he had lost himself in the 'ambience.' Curious, Sarah made to catch up with the king at the front of the line. A few of the guards stared at her as she passed them, probably wondering what it was she was doing here in the first place. Oberon had mentioned that only a special selection of people in his kingdom knew what she truly was, and said that the best way to keep her safe was to contain that knowledge as tightly as possible. The guards, he had said, were trained not to question their king, and she knew that out of the six of them, at least two had also been on the trek to the Northlands with Farwell.

She had been thinking about that too. Thinking about it all really.

The mission to retrieve the dragon venom for the spell Oberon was building for the Unseelie, all the secrecy and mystery still surrounding those two connected books, the Unseelie High King mystery, _her_ part in all of it. Sometimes it was just too much for her mind to handle. She found herself often jotting down everything she had learned so far on scraps of paper she hid in her room, trying to make it all fit together in her head, but it was a somewhat pointless effort. It all seemed far too... disconnected. Jumbled in a way that trying to force a connection between any of them made her brain hurt.

She just had to hope that she would be getting some solid answers soon.

Landing herself in step with the king, they walked in silence for a few paces before Sarah finally got up the guts to talk.

"Can I ask you something Your Majesty?" She questioned quietly. The king cast his eyes down to her for a moment before turning back to the road ahead.

"Of course Sarah, what would you like to know?"

"Well, I was just wondering... I mean, I couldn't help but notice... you seem to have a strange... _fascination_... with the labyrinth, and I was just wondering... why that is."

_Smooth Williams, real smooth._

Sarah caught a small smile twist Oberon's lips lightly before he responded in a casual tone.

"The labyrinth is a very old, very mysterious piece of architecture Sarah. I studied it when I was a lad, and found the subject most fascinating. I never thought I'd get to explore its depths, it being part of an Unseelie kingdom. This is a rare opportunity for me."

"Why is it fascinating?"

A contemplative frown marred the king's face as though he were considering what exactly he could tell her, or how he could put it into words for her.

"Did you know that the labyrinth existed before the Goblin Kingdom did?"

Sarah's widened eyes and furrowed brow was enough of an answer for the king.

"Yes. The maze had stood on this land centuries before the kingdom was built around it. The records we have of that age do not have very many details, but we can deduce that once the kingdom was built, the labyrinth, shall we say, _fazed_ into it. But before there was a kingdom, and a King in place to rule it, the labyrinth was known as a mystical force that, for seemingly no reason at all, would produce bands of little goblins, in many different forms. After a few years it became apparent that the labyrinth itself was sending goblins into your world to steal children. Unwanted children, or so the legend goes. After a few hundred years, when humans began moving away from the belief in magic and mythical creatures, it was decided that the labyrinth could no longer be left to its own devises, so a king was placed in control of it.

"As I'm sure you know, the title of Goblin King carries a lot of power in this world, but it isn't simply the title itself. Being able to control the labyrinth is an incredible feat, and requires a great deal of power. It was once incredibly unclear as to who derived more power from what, the labyrinth, or the king, but it was thoroughly believed that once the labyrinth and the kingdom meshed together, that the ruler of the kingdom would always have complete control over it. And that is why your case is so interesting."

Sarah, who had been listening with rapt attention, swallowed at the intensity behind the High King's eyes. She hadn't known anything of the labyrinths origins, it had just never seemed to be a matter of interest, but boy was she interested now. Giving the king a small nod of encouragement, he continued.

"You, my dear, are irrefutable proof that the labyrinth can, in fact, survive without a Goblin King, but it seems that there is still a mystery as to just how dependent the labyrinth is on you. You can obviously see that the labyrinth is willing to serve you, and you told me about it calling for you in your dreams and the feelings you've been getting since we crossed the kingdoms border-"

Sarah nodded in conformation.

"- Well, it seems that since we broke whatever kind of spell the Goblin King placed on you to repress your abilities, its connection with you is growing stronger, and I can only assume that that must mean its connection with the King is weakened, if not completely disintegrated. Judging by what you've told me about you're time in the Goblin Kingdom, perhaps we can safely say that the labyrinth has no control over what happens in the castle, because the castle is more a part of the king then of it. Had the labyrinth had more control of the whole of this domain, I am certain that you would have known of your connection much sooner."

Sarah walked blindly forward after hearing this, just thinking. The king's theory could explain why the labyrinth had never helped her when she was in danger, and might also explain why the Goblin King had always been so persistent in keeping her locked up, away from the labyrinth and its influence. She shivered as she remembered the one night when she had actually managed to flee the castle's walls, and recalled how ungodly angry he had been when he had found her. She had thought his anger had just been because she had tried to escape him, but maybe he had also been scared of what would happen if she actually managed to escape _into_ the labyrinth.

_But I was there that night, why didn't it help me then?_

_Because of those stupid words he made you say, remember? The connection was repressed before you even had time to think that there was anything more to this._

He must have been so desperate to keep her under his thumb that he had squelched any power she had ever possessed right out of the gate. That must have been why the labyrinth hadn't helped her that night, it simply hadn't recognised her as its... _what_?

What exactly did she call herself? It's Queen? Champion? She shivered at the sound of it; even in her head it sounded weird.

Before she could think on it further, the king was talking again.

"So, to answer you original question, I suppose what intrigues me the most about this place is the mystery of its power. It's clearly connected to the kingdom in some way, because otherwise the Goblin King would be unable to use it for the human runners. And it's clearly connected to the runners as well; since they earn the right to leave with their wished away child should they conquer it. You are the first known case where the runner has, in fact, succeeded. Now I do not know if that makes you the _only_ victor-" He explained quickly, taking in her look of shock, "- because the dealings of the Unseelie kingdoms are kept a very close secret amongst their kind, but considering the fact that you beat the labyrinth, and the labyrinth has now claimed you as its rightful ruler, I must assume there is a connection between the two. All I know for certain Sarah is that with you now in control of the labyrinth, anything could happen here. It is entirely possible that some time very soon, we may just see this kingdom in Seelie hands once more."

Sarah, who had been nodding along to the king's speech in succession, suddenly tripped over her own feet at the shock of the knowledge the king had just revealed. Oberon shot out his hands to steady her, but she was already on her feet, and staring up at the man with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"What! This kingdom used to be _Seelie_?"

Oberon nodded, slowly resuming their careful trek.

"Not knowledge you possessed I take it?"

Sarah shook her head, her brain attempting to swim through this new wisdom as though it were thick, black oil. It was difficult to imagine a _good_ Goblin King, or even a _different_ Goblin King. She had always thought the job of stealing children was meant for Jareth, since he was such a ghoul himself, but from what the king had said, the labyrinth itself had been stealing children before a person had ever been involved. Unwanted children though. _Unwanted_ children. It had had _unwanted_ children retrieved and brought here, because this kingdom was where unwanted children apparently were supposed to go. And she supposed, she _had_ wished Toby away, though she cringed at the mere thought of it now, he had been an unwanted child. Unwanted by her, who, at the time, had been his carer? She supposed, if there had ever been a good Goblin King, that taking children who had been offered wasn't such a bad thing, and then letting the wisher attempt to retrieve the child _was_... generous.

She wondered when that all changed.

Jareth had not wanted her to win. He had cheated, repetitively, in an attempt to delay her, and impede her efforts. But just because Jareth was that way, it didn't have to mean that every Goblin King had been.

"When did it change?" She asked quietly, the king furrowed his brow at her question. "When did the Goblin Kingdom become Unseelie?" She elaborated.

The king sighed mournfully. "No one knows exactly when, or why, for that matter, all that is known really is that the hierarchy of this kingdom is a particularly strange one. Jareth's own family line can only be traced back a few generations before all the information starts to blur. During the war, Jareth's own father practically disappeared during the last few months of battle. Just completely vanished, leaving Jareth to step up and take the thrown, very much the same as myself. It has been theorized that the man committed suicide because he knew the Unseelie were losing, but no one knows for certain. He could have just as easily died in battle, but what battle, or where, still remains a mystery. Though I do know that while Jareth's father was a tyrant, many still prefer the days of his rulings to that of the current Goblin King. I'm sure you can understand that better than anyone."

Sarah felt a small, sad little smile tug at her lips for a second before it dropped away again. Yes, she thought she could safely say that if anyone had experience and first hand knowledge of the Goblin King's cruelty, it would be her. But that was why she was here, she thought to herself proudly, straightening her back and shoulders; _to put a stop to it once and for all and to make sure that he can never, ever hurt me again._

Suddenly, she stopped. She was unaware that her sudden, unannounced halt caused several of the guards to bump into each other in an effort to avoid knocking her down. The king walked several paces forward, but halted once he noticed the hold in his line. Looking back,he saw the young girl was no longer at his side, but had stopped walking completely, and was staring off to the side with a dazed intensity. Jordan, who had been keeping a close eye on her from the back of the line the whole time, went to stand beside her.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" He asked concerned.

She was gazing straight ahead at a completely bare, ordinary looking wall. Several of the guards exchanged confused looks but didn't say a word to one another. The king walked back to stand on the other side of the girl, equally as confused at the sudden level of tension in the girl's stance. Sarah wasn't aware of any of this as she took several steps forwards and placed her left hand on the wall. It looked exactly the same as every other wall they had passed while walking through the maze, but the king didn't question her, merely watched as, with strange, absent eyes Sarah simply stared into the wall her palm was now flat against. Suddenly, the stones began to shake, and Jordan had to fight down the urge to pull her away as, seemingly under the girl's command, the rocks and bricks slowly shifted and parted like an archway. Rocks removed themselves from the very structure, collapsing in on themselves and reshaping to stand aside for their queen. The wall that had once appeared solid, was now standing open to reveal a black dark hole.

Sarah took a cautionary step closer without looking back behind her, she revealed, "this is it."

Before she could take another step, however, she was snatched back to safety by the arms of Jordan, who saw nothing but a dark hole and a long drop down. "How can you be sure?" Jordan asked, not wanting anyone to end up doing something they would regret.

"I just... am. There should be a ladder in there." She confirmed quietly, pointing at the revealed whole in the wall as though completely oblivious she was being held in the arms of one very affected fae.

"We need to go down the ladder to find what we came for."

Sarah took a step towards the hole, but Jordan held her back, "We should at least check first." He implored her. Her eyes were still a little misted, as though she wasn't even fully there with him. It frightened him, seeing her as such.

"I'll do it." the king said, gently shimmying aside the couple to stand in full view of the new hole in the wall. He approached the spot door without hesitation and leaned down to inspected the darkness. Several of the guards were holding their breath as the king bent further still, each expecting something to jump out and surprise them.

Everyone stared at the king's back as the man leaned still further into the doorway, seeming to crouch down as though inspecting something. A few moments later, he withdrew his head, and looked back at his small group.

"She's right. It's a ladder."

Sarah felt a sudden mountain of tension release from her shoulders. This meant that she had been at least partially right. That her dreams had meant _something_. She had recognised the wall somehow, and passing it, she knew that behind it stood exactly where she needed to go. It was almost as though she had no control over her own body as she simply placed her hand on the wall and willed it to reveal what was hidden inside. She had known that the ladder would be there, because the only way to get to an oubliette was to go down.

The fact that she was right should have made her feel happy, but it didn't. She was relieved, but she was not happy. She had been dreaming so many disturbing, strange things, and she was terrified of what she was going to find down there.

But she had come this far and right now the options before her were simple. She could go down the ladder, or she could go back the way she came.

She chose down.


	21. Part Five - Chapter Six

**Part Five**

**Chapter Six**

Jordan was the last of the group to drop down from the ladder leading to the oubliette. He quickly looked around to see Sarah, much like everyone else, was staring around the dark cave, alert and fascinated.

Sarah looked around and immediately knew this was the oubliette she had landed in during her run those few years back. It was too big a coincidence to be considered as such, in her mind. She remembered Hoggle saying something about the oubliettes around the kingdom, and once she had pushed past the familiar sadness that came with thinking about him, thought that there had to be a reason she was being led to this one specifically.

No one was speaking, nor was anyone crowding her. They gave her room as she retraced the hallway she had ran down when being chased by that massive machine. She could feel the entourage at her back but paid them no mind as she turned corners and followed the direction of her gut. She was expecting the talking cave faces to begin their warnings and whispers of doom any minute now, but surprisingly, the walls were quiet. The only thing she could really feel was a strange humming surrounding her. A vibration pulsing through her body; a feeling that grew stronger with every step she took.

She may as well have been lassoed; the feeling of being pulled in was so strong. Whatever force that lived inside the labyrinth was insistently leading her down a path she felt as though she _had_ to follow. She was nervous, for she knew that all the men behind her were expecting her to pull something spectacular out of her ass, but the fact _was_ she had no real clue _what_ to expect.

It was odd; but the further they went, the lighter the trail became. They were underground, and there were no candles or fires burning, and yet light seemed to be in abundance down here.

And then, like it had been the thing beckoning her in, after turning one last corner... there it was. At the end of the hall, there it was. Looking as though it had not been touched since her last trip, the crude wooden door to the small walkway Hoggle had opened for her after she bartered for his help by offering her small plastic bracelet. Her eyes suddenly brimmed with a stinging layer of tears as she sprinted towards the door. Her fingers practically caressing the splintered soft wood as the memories flooded her.

_Oh Hoggle. My first real friend. I miss you so much._

Wiping her eyes and nose as discreetly as possible, she bent down and shuffled into the small hovel of rock the talking hands had released her in.

Just like before, the walls shone brightly, like miniature candles embedded in the stone. The small space had an almost golden glow about it. An iridescence that would have seemed pretty were it not for the knot currently tightening in Sarah's stomach. This was as far as she knew to go, and as one by one the men accompanying her filled in, she looked around desperately hoping to be hit with some jolt of inspiration.

"Now what?" Jordan whispered, his eyes hunting around the shiny walls in anticipation.

Sarah couldn't respond. The pressure in her stomach hadn't let up, if anything, it was intensifying with every moment she stood there, but she had no clue what she was supposed to do next.

Casting her eyes around, her gaze once again landed on the small piece of wood Hoggle had literally picked up from the ground to act as a door. She remembered how he had used a key to open the door, but how the first time he had tried, it had opened into an overstuffed closet of junk. Going on the only hunch she had, she walked back over to the door and closed it. She could feel the eyes of everyone squished in the small space staring at her, but she ignored the pressure, and hoped beyond hope that this would work. If she had led them all this way for nothing...

Pressing her hand flat against the wood, and holding her breath the whole time, she sharply pulled it open again.

She was right.

What met her on the other side was not the hall of talking faces. What met her on the other side was amazing.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

The room was incredible, if 'room' is what it could truly be called. It looked as though they were in a submerged garden of sorts. A very large garden. They were still underground, that much was clear, for the sparkly crystalline stone ceiling shone high above them, but other than that, the expanse of the area seemed to go on for miles, stretching before them like a forest from a child's fantasy. The walls were covered in mossy trees, plants and natural beauty, the chirping of insects and rushing water surrounded them as they took in the sweet scent of cut grass and petrichor. Minuscule little water paths carved into the pebble walkway fed into different plants and flowers Sarah had never seen before. Greenery surrounded every surface she laid eyes on, and it was beyond her how something like this could have flourished without sunlight, underground.

She knew she was in the right place. The tight pressure was gone, and in its place a strong sense of purpose had returned. It felt _good_ to be here, Felt _right_. This was definitely what she had been looking for.

Dazed, Sarah stepped further into the sea of green. It felt oddly warm around her, humid even, but not unpleasantly so. Even though she could see no opening other than the door they had just entered through, it felt like fresh air and heat were coming in from everywhere.

Tearing her eyes away from the scene for only a moment, she focused on the men surrounding her. She felt an odd sense of pride at their stunned admiration, and felt better that she, for once, hadn't been the only one to be knocked off her feet by such an outstanding array of beauty, and magic.

Feeling as though she were being pulled in, Sarah staggered further into the jumble of wonderful smells and bright colours. Approaching an unusual appearing orange flower, she reached out her hand to stroke the soft petals, only to jerk away as a rush akin to electric shock jolted through her fingertips. It wasn't painful; in fact for the briefest of moments she almost thought she felt... joy. An unexplainable joy surging and seizing her. It wasn't her own emotions though; it felt as though it had come _from_ the flower. How could a plant feel joy? Being here, standing here, in this place, she was overcome with so many strange sensations. The tension and fear that had been overwhelming her mere moments before were forgotten. She felt as though this was where she was _supposed_ to be.

It felt like she was standing in the centre of something important. Everything that could make everything whole again. The heart.

Her heart and the heart of the labyrinth.

Sarah thought she heard someone call after her, but she was far to spun by this beautiful web to pay the person any mind. A group of brightly coloured butterflies flew past her, and she jumped back in surprise, only to see the butterflies come back around, surround her, and then fly on, deeper into the oasis.

_Follow them_; an enticing voice in the back of her mind whispered.

She wanted to, gods how she wanted to, for they seemed to be flitting through the air as though they were excited to see her. Biting her lip, Sarah looked back at the small group of men who had kept her safe so far, only to find that a few of them had broken free from the group and were mulling around, observing their surroundings. Looking back at the flying insects, she saw they were attempting to lead her down a small cavern like passage, sectioned off from the rest of the open space by strings of leaves that grew up the walls, stuck to the ceiling and cascaded around her like the unusual branches of a willow tree. Half an hour ago, the thought of leaving the group had petrified her; but she felt safe here. No, it was much more than that. She felt like this was her home. _Home_. A concept that had been so lost over the last how many months. As kind as Oberon and Titania had been, putting her and her family up in their castle, _their_ castle was not _her_ home, and the same could certainly be said for where she had resided before that. Standing there, surrounded by all the natural splendour, she truly felt like she belonged.

Making a promise that if she felt even so much as a twinge of unease, to turn back and go find them, she resolved to follow the hyper acting butterflies that were still zooming around her, as though happy at her acceptance. She let out a little laugh at their behaviour, for only in a magical world would butterflies be _happy_ to see her.

As she followed, she contemplated what it was she was feeling. She felt her own bliss at being here, it was true, but there was a joy surrounding her that was not her own. She had felt like the labyrinth had been calling out to her all along, even in her dreams, and now she was finally here.

But how could she be at home in a place she had so feared?

She didn't know why this place had been calling for her return, but she knew for a fact she could not stay. This was a recon mission, nothing more, and yet the thought of leaving sent a surge of unpleasantness and massive panic through her system.

She didn't want to think about all this just yet, and so pushed all the strange emotions to one side to hurry along beside six little critters who were being pretty insistent that she keep up, even flying through her hair and flapping around her ears.

It wasn't until the butterflies stopped soaring around and settled themselves on nearby flowers that Sarah knew they had reached their destination. She looked around, and noticed with just a tiny hint of trepidation just how far from the rest of the group she had gone. Looking back the way she came, there was nothing to see but several zigzag corners that disappeared into green light. Directly before her was a moss covered stone wall, and to her left, the same. The only place to go would be to the right of her, which, Sarah observed, happened to be a thick wall of dangling leaves, light shining clearly through the gaps. There simply had to be something behind it. Overcome with curiosity, she stuck out her hand and gingerly drew the curtain of leaves aside.

She gasped.

What she was looking at was a small cove that was by no means empty. Centre to her stare, bathed in sunshine coming from gods knew where, was a large roundly shaped rock, with a surface flat as a table. Seemingly ordinary, it drew Sarah's gaze like a speck of light in a vast dark tunnel. Stepping forward, Sarah realised that while the rest of the cove seemed to be overgrowing with plant life, this large, marble looking stone was clean and polished. While the walls and ceilings were crisscrossed with moss and flowers and shrubbery, the pathway surrounding this monument was perfectly clear, as though this small alcove had recently been preened. Cleaned over and swept up so the stone sat perfectly in view, unobstructed by anything.

Who else knew about this place? Sarah knew she had dreamed of the junkyard lady coming down here, but could it really be?

Cleaned up or not, the boulder appeared to be bathed in a sea of light. It seemed like rays of sunlight were beaming down upon it and yet when Sarah looked up at the ceiling, there was nothing but moss covered rock.

This place practically screamed magic, but for some unknown reason, someone or something clearly wanted this large stone in view. Taking another hesitant step towards the thing, Sarah realised that the rock wasn't perfectly flat at all. Words seemed to have been carved into the shiny marble like surface. At least, Sarah _thought_ they were words. It wasn't in any language she recognised, nor were the letters any of the twenty-six she knew, but the strange indentations were spaced in such a way that looked like... sentences. Beautifully scripted sentences. The possibility that someone had actually carved this writing amazed Sarah. True, it was more likely whoever erected this had used magic, but Sarah was still stunned. She wanted to touch it. To feel if the rock's surface was smooth or rough. To see if she could feel the indentations of the carved words or if they were not really carved at all. Sarah's fingers twitched, wondering why, for what reason, and by what, had she been led here. If she thought that this garden was the heart of the labyrinth, a place where it's magic truly thrived, than she had a sneaky suspicion that whatever this rock was, would be the heart of the heart. She could have been wrong, but she doubted it. She had been brought here, and she wanted to know why. Oh for all the gold in the world she wanted to know why. She wanted to know the labyrinth knew her purpose, the answers to her many, many questions.

Her hand hovered over the stone, a strong urge to caress the grooving's overtaking her, but she hesitated. There it was, the uncertainty, the caution, the fear that had come to rule her with every decision she made. What if this was nothing, what if it was simply some random old stone in a strange place that held no meaning at all. She wanted to believe she had been led here for a reason, but the very idea of being proven wrong made her heart throb.

_Come on Sarah, just do it, stop being so afraid of getting hurt._

Spurred on, she clenched and uncoiled her fingers a few times before finally stepping forward and laying her right hand flat on the surface.

Nothing happened, and for the first few moments a crushing disappointment threatened to overwhelm her, but then she started to feel something. An odd prickling sensation in her fingers. It wasn't short and sharp like the shock she had received from the flower, but rather dull and slow. When it started making her uncomfortable, she made to pull her hand away, only to find she couldn't. She tugged her arm back but her palm was stuck as though it were welded. Eyes bulging with every second she wrestled against the rock, her eyes suddenly focused on something astonishing. Thinking her fear was playing tricks on her, she froze, leaning down to get a closer look. It happened again. The writing, words, scratches, whatever they were, _moved_. They seemed to vibrate around her hand and ripple like she had stuck her fingers in water. Her wide green eyes swelled as, while she watched, the little words that were bending and squeezing each other, ripped itself from the flat surface with a sudden _pop_. Awestruck, she watched the strange word float out of the rock, slowly move up into the air and hover there, just above her eyes. Sarah gasped in surprise in a moment of silence before all the carved scribbles began to rapidly un-write themselves. Stripping themselves from the rock and shooting into the air like neat pieces of rubble.

Not wanting to know what would happen to her hand if she couldn't remove it from the rock in time, she pulled and yanked with all her strength, but it was no use.

A short sharp cry of panic erupted from her throat, followed by a louder more insistent scream, hoping that one of the men she had left behind would find her. She felt something strange in her chest, as though an outside force were trying to soothe her but she was to frantic. She should have known better than to meddle in things that concerned magic, she may have had some dormant force inside her, but it was still useless. _She_ was still useless.

The stone was still shredding itself to pieces as the yells and shouts from the distance responded to her cries. The faces of her saviours appeared from behind the wall of leaves mere minutes later and first, they were just as awestruck, clearly not knowing what they were seeing, but Oberon didn't hesitate. He moved swiftly towards her, only to be halted in his tracks by some strange field of energy.

Looking around, Sarah saw that the pieces of stone were not only floating through the sky idly, but had began to surround her, moving in a circle and creating a kind of barrier between her and everyone else who was watching.

Fearful, Sarah turned back to the stone, only to see the last and final little scratch indent rip itself free from its confines and join the other strange thin pieces of rock floating around her. Her hand now lay on a perfectly intact shiny flat surface. Feeling the usually detached sense of calm waft through her body again, she gave one last pull of her arm, and was finally free.

Not thinking twice, she ran like a bat out of hell towards the group of men facing her, only to find herself flat against the invisible wall the moving rock carvings seemed to have made. It was the strangest thing Sarah had ever seen. The rock pieces, or whatever they were, were all hovering in sync, circling both her and the stone. She could see the king, Jordan, and all the rest of them with perfect clarity; she just couldn't _get_ to them.

Pushing past the terror, she realised they were speaking. She could see the king facing his subjects, his mouth moving. See Jordan with his hand against the odd magical wall, obviously trying to talk to her. His eyes were right on her, a frantic desperation shining through them that made her stomach twist at the realisation of his affection.

She couldn't hear a word they were saying, but somehow, she felt an overwhelming urge to comfort them... comfort him.

"I'm okay!" She yelled, placing her hand in the same spot as Jordan's in an attempt to soothe his worry. "I'm alright, can you hear me?!"

She saw Jordan nod, relief washing over his features. In a rush, she watched him quickly shed one glove from his hand and place the bare skin against the improvised force field. Nothing happened, and it was clear he was hoping their shared bond might be able to break through whatever it was keeping them separated, but it was abundantly clear that nothing was getting through.

She saw his mouth move again, looking right at her, but she couldn't hear a thing. Literally, all she could hear was a rushing sound, as though she were inside a blowing wind, or a gentle wave.

"I can't hear you!" She called to him, and saw the look of confusion cloud his features, his bare hand tangling into his short, brown hair and tugging on it like he did when he was stressed.

Suddenly, Jordan's irate expression turned to horror the exact same moment Sarah heard a strange clapping noise vibrate through her ears. She spun quickly only to see that the rock, that was once sitting quietly, was now quaking and shaking like a volcano ready to erupt. Pressing herself back against the magic wall, she watched in despair as the rock shook crazily, feeling for sure like it was going to burst all over her. She twisted her head to the side, hiding her face in her hand to protect herself, and let out a little scream.

But pain never came.

She stood paralysed by her own fear for many silent moments until she finally had the courage to look up.

What she saw made her eyes bulge.

A woman, the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life, stepped free from the confines of the large rock that was now broken cleanly in two behind her. She was tall, far taller than any human woman Sarah had ever seen, yet possessing a grace that a human could only dream of. Her skin was pale and perfect, without a blemish or mark and her billowing white hair seemed to float about the air as though caught in a playful breeze. But the thing that intrigued Sarah the most about the stunning woman was her eyes. They were completely clear. She had no pupils and no flicks of colour, they simply shone like a lantern of pure clean white.

The rest of her face was perfect. Perfectly symmetrical nose, ears, eyebrows, everything. It was only when Sarah flicked her gaze to the woman's amazingly plump red lips that she saw they were curled in a small, comforting smile.

"Well, no one has looked upon me with that kind of admirance in quite some time." An amused voice like tinkering bells sounded.

Sarah closed her gaping mouth with a snap.

The fear that had been seeping out of her seemed to heave itself in suddenly. That voice left nothing but ease behind, and the calm she had felt the labyrinth attempting to push off on her whilst in her panicked daze seemed to seize her moment of doubt and surge through her, whispering comfortingly; do not be afraid.

Looking back at the woman, the goddess, before her, Sarah suddenly felt a large dose of inadequacy. As ridiculous as it may have seemed, she actually felt envious of this strange woman's perfection, and retreated back into the wall she had only just peeled herself from in her curiosity.

"You need not be afraid, my champion. You have nothing to fear from this form. We cannot harm you, nor shall we ever wish to."

Sarah simply stared wide eyed at the woman, wondering what the hell had just happened. It seemed that this strange creature with remarkably white eyes had just emerged from a rock as though it were nothing of importance. She could not possibly be human, and she appeared far more beautiful than any fae she had ever seen. Confusion and apprehension whirled inside of her, but not fear. No, fear was gone, pushed aside by the sheer unthreatening peace this being seemed to be radiating.

But despite her lack of fear, Sarah still struggled to find her voice. She opened her mouth only to close it again, gasping like a fish. She felt ridiculous, like she was embarrassing herself in front of something so perfect. But looking into the woman's face, she saw no sneer of ridicule or look of impatience. Looking upon the strange woman's face, even with her unusual clear eyes, the expression that beamed from her features was clear.

Love.

Sarah stumbled for words.

"W-who are you?" She stuttered, wincing at how charred and unnatural her voice had sounded, like she had been choking on fire. Nothing like the soft tinkering bells the voice of this goddess possessed.

"I speak for the labyrinth. You need not be afraid child. For its heart and yours are connected as one."

"You speak for the labyrinth?" Sarah stammered, having tried several times to form some sort of sentence from the jumbled mess that was her mind. She felt stunned in the presence of this beauty. Stunned.

"I do." Was the woman's simple reply.

More silence followed, and though this beings face showed nothing but kindness and contentment, Sarah still felt like an idiot for her lack of articulation. She didn't know what she had been expecting when she came here, but it most certainly was not this.

Apprehensive, she turned her head only slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of the men on the other side of the strange magical barrier. The pieces of suspended rock were still floating around, surrounding both her and this being in a cocoon of sorts. The woman must have seen her stare, because her voice floated over to her.

"They can hear us, but not us, them. They will not be allowed to interfere."

Sarah's head snapped back towards the woman, feeling foolish for having removed her from her sight. She knew better. Feeling of safety or none, things were not always what they seemed in the Underground, and though the calming effects were surrounding her, were _inside_ her, willing her to relax, it was in her nature to be cautious and untrustworthy. Another _gift_ bestowed upon her by the Goblin King.

"Interfere with what?" Sarah asked guardedly, testing the woman's reaction. The peaceful smile never left her face.

"There is much you must know, young champion. And many truths I am afraid I must burden you with. You have many questions you also seek answers to, correct?" She asked.

Sarah nodded her head in silence.

"You may ask me whatever you wish, champion. The labyrinth is at your command. I shall keep no secrets, nor will I speak lies."

No secrets. No lies. Such tempting promises. It had been nothing but secrets and lies for the longest time. Deception and deceit were the ways of this world, of any world, apparently, and she could barely think to pluck one question out of the mass she had accumulated since her first day here.

Thinking to buy herself some time, she went with something simple.

"What are you?"

The woman answered immediately. "I am the heart of the labyrinth. It's voice for when it wishes to speak. It shows my form only to those whom are worthy to see it. And you, young Sarah, are most assuredly worthy."

Blushing slightly at the unexpected compliment, she once again tilted her head in the direction of the men behind her.

"And they are worthy too?" She questioned curiously.

The woman gave a small shake of her head. "They cannot see me." Was her reply. Sarah's brow furrowed in confusion, but didn't even open her mouth to ask before the woman was speaking again. "The ancient _Petram_ is my guard, and its words protect me. When they gaze through my shield, they see only my essence, not my form. To their eyes, you are talking to a ball of light."

Sarah nodded, understanding. So the rock pieces _were_ words, she was right. Somehow, she knew she would be. And the men on the other side of its barrier could see her, but not this strangely perfect woman. She breathed a sigh of relief; at least they weren't standing there thinking she was crazy and talking to herself.

"What's your name?" She asked, turning back to the woman curiously.

She once again shook her head, her movements so graceful that Sarah had to fight the urge not to gawk at her.

"I do not have one, champion. I have been waiting here since before the creation of names, and no one else has ever thought to bestow one to me. But you may, if that is what you wish." She said kindly.

Stowing all the knowledge this being had revealed away for contemplation, Sarah pleaded with her brain to function enough to digest what she was saying. 'I have been waiting here since before the creation of names', surely she was very old, which of course meant that the labyrinth was very old. Of course, Oberon had said as such, that the labyrinth had been standing long before the kingdom had been built around it.

"What about... Heart?"

The woman tilted her head to the side, letting Sarah know she did not understand. She rushed to explain. "For your name. Since you're the heart of the labyrinth. What if I called you 'Heart,' is that a good name for you? Because if you don't like it..." Her stammering trailed off. She felt like an idiot.

The goddess before her did not seem to share her assessment however, as she merely continued to smile. "If that is your wish champion, than 'Heart' I shall be called." She replied gently.

Sarah nodded rigidly, feeling clumsy and pathetic before this being. She was standing before someone who could finally give her answers and she was wasting time on such fickle matters? _Get it together Williams._

"So... you've just been... trapped here? In this place? All this time?" Sarah asked nervously, gesturing to the small cove they were currently standing in. She looked behind the woman to where the large rock had sat moments before, but was now split perfectly in two, pieces of its debris surrounding them.

Sarah caught the barest flicker of amusement on the newly named 'Heart's' features before the being shook her head.

"I have been around, young champion. I was created as a voice where the labyrinth cannot speak, my obligation to guide the ruler of the labyrinth in whatever assistance they seek. The last time we met, I looked rather different."

Sarah's eyes bugged from her head.

"We've met before?!" She questioned, startled. How could she possibly have forgotten being face to face with such beauty?

A light little laugh graced the air as Heart let out an almost childlike giggle. Sarah flushed with embarrassment, even knowing that the woman wasn't laughing at her.

"Yes, we have, but as I said, I took another form. One far different from the one I take now. And I must thank you for that. I cannot feel vanity, but admittedly, I much prefer this," she gestured down to her shimmering form, "than my old skin. It was quite confining." She said with amusement.

Sarah's brow remained puckered, completely confused. They had met, but she had looked different, is that what she was trying to say? Why did all these supernatural beings always seem to speak in riddles? She claimed to have met her before, but she hadn't had much contact with anyone since coming back. Her first visit, in contrast, had been entirely different. She had met all kinds of creatures, all of which had assisted her in some strange way or another. Whom had she known, that could have possibly been this magnificent being standing before her? She couldn't recall seeing anything like her, but by the way she spoke, 'Heart' made it sound like she was in a rather unappealing form when they had supposedly met, so...

So..?

"The junk lady?" Sarah gasped in astonishment, the suspicion spilling out of her mouth. All the dreams she had had about the labyrinth, they had all featured that haggard goblin lady who had met her in the junk fields. The two looked nothing alike, and yet the suspicion seemed to just fit.

She saw the ghost of a smile on Heart's lips as the beautiful woman gave a small nod.

"But... but I don't... I don't understand." Sarah stammered, backing away, shaking her head. "You tried to trick me. Distract me when I couldn't remember anything!" She accused; hostility and mistrust flushing back in a great huff. She felt the peacefulness and calming effects try to quell her but she fought them back. She knew it was stupid to trust. She knew it!

For the first time, the woman before her looked grim. Her eyes were saddened and the smile was gone, but she didn't look any less beautiful.

_A trick_, her mind whispered. _All a trick, get away!_

"We could not help you young champion. For our heart and soul was bound by another. A darker force that wished only for your failure. I must do as my ruler orders. As the spirit of the labyrinth, I have no choice."

Sarah stared shamelessly at her. She sounded so sincere. She claimed to have had no choice in her attempts to thwart her and yet, she still sounded guilty. Those eyes, they shone with sincerity. And love. Love, like the woman before her was someone who actually _knew_ her. Knew her and loved her and was pleading with her not to be afraid.

_Trust me_, a little voice inside countered her fear. _Trust _us_ Sarah._

_'Bound by a darker force that wished only for your failure?' I wonder who _that_ could be._

"The Goblin King?" Sarah whispered, knowing she was right. The king had had control of the labyrinth before she came along, and he had wanted her to lose. Of course he had. If she had lost, she would have been forced to stay, that one bite from the peach sealing her fate. By winning, she had bought herself three more years of freedom, but in the end, she was still his prisoner.

"Yes." Heart replied with a solemn nod of the head. "He was our ruler. Our king, and we had no free will but his will. It is the same with every ruler of the labyrinth, and the same with you. Although..." She trailed, her light smile returning, "We much prefer being bound to you than him."

Now _that_ was surprising. If this being was a real woman, than she would not have had to look far for an explanation. Jareth had no respect for women, and treated them as little more than pets rather than actual people. Even women of status he had talked down to, his tone always condescending and behaviour discourteous. But Heart wasn't a _real_ woman, from the way she spoke; Sarah assumed she was merely a tool from which the labyrinth spoke through. A being with no real thought or emotion. She was bound to the labyrinth and the labyrinth its ruler. Sarah would have thought that something as old and powerful as the labyrinth would have preferred to have someone with power rule. Besides Oberon, Jareth was the most powerful being Sarah had ever met. Though that didn't really mean all that much, since she had been isolated by the Goblin King and had mostly isolated herself in Oberon's kingdom.

She was surprised to discover that this place, the labyrinth, had thoughts, had feelings. It was more than just a bunch of rocks and magic, its essence seemed capable of emotion. It was something completely beyond Sarah's head. How could a place feel? How could walls and stone and earth emote? She knew this world was magic but... this completely escaped her. And why, if this spokesperson was correct, would the labyrinth prefer her, a mere human girl, to a powerful magic entity like a fae king? No matter how hard she tried to force it, the pieces simply didn't fit.

"Why would the labyrinth prefer _me_?" She asked the being, gesturing down to herself in a rather unflattering way. "I'm nothing. Just a normal human girl. Why would it prefer me to a king?" She demanded.

The woman's face looked calculating. Despite the eeriness of those pure white eyes, her flat set mouth made Sarah feel as though she were gearing up for a story.

"The labyrinth has been here before the world began. Its essence, its energy, it was born before anything else. It changed as the worlds changed, and grew as the worlds grew. From the fae, it fed on their magic's, and from humanity, their imagination. Soon the labyrinth began to take shape, building itself into the mightily maze you yourself once explored. Both worlds shared and took from each other, and the labyrinth was the centre of it all. Humans would often wonder into this world willingly, incurring no consequences, and fae could also travel between the dimensions effortlessly. But your world and this one were never meant to co-exist. As both races began to grow apart, the worlds began to crumble, and the doors began to close. The labyrinth had nurtured and been nurtured by both worlds, and could not survive on the essence of only one. It had become dependent on both, you see?

"The labyrinth began luring lost children into its nests to keep the connection alive, as children have the most powerful life force of all human kind, but the magic of this world began to twist them, making them more fae than man. They became different races, races that no longer held the humanity the labyrinth desperately needed. It soon realised it could not keep stealing children to preserve the connection, and to let the two worlds drift apart would have been disastrous not just for it, but for all of you, more than either race will ever truly know."

"What do you mean?" Sarah interrupted, already awed by the tale Heart was telling.

"The labyrinth binds the two together Sarah, like the universe binds your suns, moons and stars. Without a balance of both worlds in the labyrinth, one would dominate, and that would either mean the death of all fae, or the death of all humankind. Soon, the labyrinth came up with a solution. It would continue to take unwanted children, but it would also allow their careers to come under a blanket of protection, retaining their humanity while they searched for whomever the labyrinth took. In exchange for allowing these human runners a chance to save their charges, it would feed on their humanity, but in order to insure this, it needed a ruler. A guardian it could channel all its essence into, so the ruler would have both magic and humanity in their blood. It would mean giving the being complete control over us, but otherwise, we would all cease to exist.

"The fae had been attempting to build a kingdom around the labyrinth for many years, and had attempted many spells to bind us to them and their powers. They never knew that we subjugated ourselves willingly, so we all might be spared.

"When the first fae sat upon a throne bound to us, they were given the responsibility of the lost human children. With the labyrinth channelling its human energy into the ruler, they were able to keep humanity in the fae lands, and any other human that found their way here may also do so.

"But the solution was brief. Contempt for humankind began to grow amongst the fae, for its world was newer and younger, and they believed humanity could pose a great threat. For humankind were beginning to forget. The less they believed in magic, the more of a threat they became. Mystical creatures could no longer survive in your world, forcing them to return here, where they ruined many fae lands with their newly developed powers. Humanity was once again being drained from the Underground, only now; the two worlds were less connected. Most fae ignored humans, and most humans did not even acknowledge the Underground. They were falling apart."

"But wait." Sarah interrupted again, holding out her hand to force the being before her to stop. It was a lot of information to process. From what Oberon had told her in his office some few weeks ago, she gathered that most, if not all, mythical creatures depicted by ancient civilizations were real, and if that was not mind blowing enough, she now had to consume the knowledge that their worlds were connected by more than just time and space. The labyrinth had been keeping them together, preventing both their destruction, and had allowed a fae to rule it to keep the peace? But if both worlds truly meant nothing to the other..?

"Wouldn't that mean that there would be less risk, if the worlds weren't as connected as before? I mean, humans don't really need magic, there must be less than a few thousand in my world that still believe, and even children don't hold on to magic anymore. Most of us scoff at the beliefs of older generations, and every civilisation that believed in gods or mythical creatures are normally called primitive and superstitious. Magic has no real place in my world anymore." Sarah explained rather sadly. "Doesn't that mean that the two worlds are already separated?"

"No champion, it doesn't. It might have been, were it not for humans like you."

"Me?!" Sarah exclaimed, gaping at the woman with wide eyes and mouth hanging open.

Heart smiled.

"Yes Sarah. The labyrinth desperately sought to balance humanity and magic for many years. And you are correct; most of humankind had either lost, or ignored the magic in order to fit in with your rapidly advancing society. But not people like you. Because of people like you, who still hold magic in your heart, the two worlds were still at risk. If no human believed in magic, and no fae cared for humanity, the two worlds could separate in relative peace, but the labyrinth knew that would never be so. It created a way to reach out to you. Wanting to draw you in. Humans like you, you stubbornly, shamelessly grip tight to the possibilities of magic and refuse to let go, even when the world around you would judge you. The time you were here Sarah, sharing your humanity and love of magic with the beings around you, allowed the labyrinth enough strength to last years without so much as a drop of any other humans. That is how much of the two worlds you so effortlessly channelled. I believe it knew, even then."

"Knew? Knew what?" Sarah asked, slightly uncomfortable with Hearts description of her. Yes, she had loved magic, and just look where her love of magic had gotten her.

"Tell me, do you recognise this?" Heart asked, holding up an empty hand before her. Sarah was about to ask what she meant, when before her eyes a little book materialised into the woman's hand. A little red book. Sarah gasped.

"That's... that's..."

"Yes. This book was created by the labyrinth, and given to its ruler to place in the human world. Its purpose is to lure humans who would believe enough to use the magic within, to wish themselves away to a world thought by many fake and dead. It found you Sarah. Of all others in your generation, it found _you_. It chose _you_. You were always meant to be here, for there is magic inside you that has always connected you here, but above all else, the labyrinth hoped to bring you here to rule."

Sarah did not know what to think at that moment in time, to busy was she digesting every little bit of information she was getting. She had completely forgotten about the outside world while standing in their little bubble. Forgetting that there were eight men watching and listening to their conversation. Part of her wanted to rave. To yell and fume at the woman in front of her and demand to know what the hell the labyrinth had been thinking. She had used the magic of that book to wish her own brother away. If she had never found it, or if it had never found her, she never would have been subjected to this fate. She wanted to implode about all of it, but in her shock, the only thing she could think to say was...

"Rule?"

Heart nodded again, the little red book disappearing as suddenly as it had come.

"The labyrinth has always wished for a mortal ruler. Someone with enough balance of humanity and magic to cease its struggle to keep the balance between both worlds. When humanity began to drain from the Underground, it made a deal with the fae that would become its master. Any human who uses the spells of the red book, to wish away a child to the labyrinth, to the 'Goblin King' as the kingdom's ruler had been named, would be allowed to run the labyrinth to rescue the child back. Anyone could challenge the labyrinth's ruler, but this was the only way the labyrinth knew to give a human a fighting chance. The runner was not allowed to be harmed, at the most, simply tested. If a runner were to defeat the king, then they would be considered more worthy than the last ruler. All the labyrinth's power and loyalty would transfer to them, and _they_ would become king. Or, in your case, Queen."

Sarah blinked a few times, her head feeling a little fuzzy. It was a lot of information to keep track of. From what she had already learned, she was the rightful ruler of the labyrinth, but not the kingdom. This was so confusing. Jordan had told her she did not have a right to the Goblin King's throne, and for all intents and purposes, she was fine with that. She had never wanted any of it anyway, but now Heart was telling her she had a right to it? What was going on?

There was definitely something she was missing. If every runner who ran the labyrinth had a chance to win the throne, why was Jareth still the Goblin King? Oberon and Jordan had mentioned something about the records of this place being sketchy. Was it simply that no one knew she was supposed to take his place? And if that was so, was the right to be king or queen as simple as declaring you were one? All the information was giving her a headache, and she brought her palm up to massage her forehead to ease some of the pain away.

Finally, after a solid five minutes of standing in silence, she felt fit enough to ask Heart another question.

"Does that mean... does that mean that Jar... the Goblin King, had to run the labyrinth? To be king? I'm sorry, but this isn't making much sense to me. If the human runners who win are supposed to become the rulers of both the labyrinth and the kingdom, why am I just finding out about this now?"

Something flashed across the woman's face so fast Sarah almost didn't catch it. Even with her white, empty eyes, her face seemed so expressive Sarah simply couldn't ignore what she saw. And what she saw was fear.

"What do you know of Jareth the Goblin King?" Heart asked quietly. Almost... dreadfully.

Sarah's eyes hardened in an instant. She clenched her jaw.

"He's a psycho, a sex addict, and a murderer. What more do I need to know?" She demanded coldly.

It was strange, but Sarah could have sworn she saw the figure cringe.

Why would the labyrinth be afraid?

"There are many more things you must know. Truths we are sure you would prefer _not_ to know, but truths all the same. We failed you, and we know it. We should have been more careful, our only excuse is having no idea how alluring our power could be."

It was Sarah's turn to be afraid, for the sheer forced nature of Heart's words led her to believe that she was about to learn something she truly had no wish to learn.

"What do you mean?" The young woman asked. The woman with the pure white eyes sighed.

"We have stood upon this land since before there was land to stand upon. We have watched the world while standing still, and have learned many of its secrets. We have knowledge that is unfathomable and never ending, and we presented all this to the fae king in exchange for taking the human children from your world. Through every generation, through centuries, we watched the human runners attempting to save their wished away children. But all humans would fail. The fae kings would play by the rules, but most humans would simply be too overwhelmed or disinterested. The king would offer the runner their dreams, a gift from the labyrinth to keep _magic_ in the _human_ world, and most would take it, already to selfish to think about anything other than themselves. Many gave up long before their thirteen hours were over, and we were stuck with the same ruler for many centuries. Yet they too had patterns. When the ruler, always a fae king, would produce an heir, they would share with them the secret to the kingdom. When the heirs became of age, they too would run the labyrinth. We would challenge them, put obstacles in their way, not to make them fail, but to test their strength and courage. If the heir succeeded, they were given our power and their parents would retire and remain in the kingdom until their age brought their demise. The process was always kept a secret.

"With each new ruler, the two worlds changed ever so slightly to fit with their preference. Time is a strange thing, and this world and yours do not share the same control over it. Most of the Underground would not know this, but every time the labyrinth gains a new ruler, there is another time shift. The way your world and this one moves changes to the preference of the new king, and for the most part, this was a good thing."

Sarah still felt confused, _what did this have to do with the Goblin King?_ Her impatient look rushed Heart along.

"Your species was evolving way to fast. We gave the king the red story books to capture the hearts of humans with magic still in their souls, but at the rate your race was moving, we were losing hope fast. There were less and less runners each year, and none of them ever made it far enough to rescue their wished aways. But with the first change of rulers, time slowed, and the more rulers we had, the more time drifted apart, until a hundred years here would not even correlate to one day in your world. We needed that time, but we were foolish to offer the king's so much power. They had the power of time, the power to move through the human world with ease, even the power to transform themselves into animals so that they might inconspicuously watch for potential in the human race. We should have anticipated how alluring all that power would be, but alas, we did not."

"To late for what?" Sarah whispered, hardly finding her voice through the dread that was beginning to build.

"If there would truly be no human runner worthy enough to claim our throne, the knowledge that only a champion runner could claim the throne was supposed to be kept between the king and his chosen successor. But one king was foolish enough to write the information down, and, for whatever reason, another got a hold of that knowledge.

"From what we understand, it was no one important at the time. A young fae with a low rank and a greedy heart. We didn't even recognise the risk until it was too late. He demanded an opportunity to run the labyrinth, claiming himself more worthy than the standing king. We had no choice but to grant it, for anyone can challenge us if they feel entitled to whatever it is we possess. But this boy wanted no lost child. He wanted our power. Every bit of knowledge we had would be devastating in the wrong hands, and so we tried to deter him. Our ruler and we fought as one to keep the young fae from succeeding, but, against all odds, he reached the castle before his time was up. Our allegiance changed, and once he was crowned king, did he execute both the former king and the kings true heir. It was the birth of all Unseelie fae."

Sarah gasped. The illusionary woman before her, Heart, nodded solemnly.

"After that, the darkness spread. Any fae that wished for power, were greedy for either magic or wealth or status among their kind, were considered Unseelie. They claimed their own kingdoms, their own lands, and their own laws. Their wicked magic even spread to a few magic creatures in their care, turning them dark. The newly titled Seelie, watched, but did nothing. I suppose it was more convenient for them to split themselves in two, rather than living with any rotten apples that may have been born into their kingdoms. Surprisingly, the birth of the Unseelie had little effect on the Underground at first, but it was devastating to us. Our mind was connected to the king's, as was our hearts. This place, once beautiful, turned dark and twisted. The labyrinth became an evil force, no longer welcoming for humanity. No human runner ever stood a chance after that, and not only that, but the kings past the knowledge on to their own offspring. Any future ruler was warned against the threat of all human runners, for if one should succeed, the fate of the Unseelie would be threatened. No one knew where or why the Unseelie came to be, so no one questioned us. No one but our ruler and their heir knew of our power. We were kept a secret.

"Only the king's chosen heir was told of the need to run the labyrinth to claim its magic. But they were also told that in order to keep that magic, they would have to kill the former ruler as a show of strength."

Sarah's jaw went completely slack. Shock clouded her mind, and a small voice was screaming in the back of her head that this woman was proclaiming to something important, something devastating, but she couldn't quite hear it. There was something else taxing on her mind in that moment, something much more personal.

"Are you saying... that Jareth... _killed_ his own _father_?" Sarah choked on the question, though even she was not certain why she was asking. Why would it be surprising, really? He was a monster. She had seen him kill with his bare hands, and yet somehow, the knowledge that that man was capable of _patricide_, among everything else, was disgusting. _That_ was the man she had spent nights with in between soft silk sheets. The mere thought of it made her sick.

Heart nodded.

"Yes. During the war between Seelie and Unseelie, Jareth ran and won the labyrinth while everyones attentions were elsewhere. We believe, though, that Jareth's father gave him permission to kill him. For throughout the generations of Unseelie rulers the offspring have been told that killing the previous king was a necessity, and so the greedy progeny did so without remorse. The continued darkness of our rulers had left us haggard. This place, now beautiful and full of light and life, was nothing but rot and death before you came. It was why my appearance so disgusted you when we first met. I was a reflection of the Goblin King's soul. And now, I am a reflection of yours."

The being smiled a little after saying that, appraising the fearful girl before her with pride, but Sarah was too far away. She at least knew now that she was indeed not the only runner to ever win the labyrinth, and why the Goblin King had been so angry about her victory, but, how could it have been that she first won, and then, instead of staying and being given all this pivotal information, had been sent home, where she had been left clueless and vulnerable for the Goblin King's return.

She raised her downcast eyes to Heart, who was standing exactly as she had been this whole time, posed and unmoving, watching her patiently as she grasped desperately for her questions like a child would escaping helium balloons.

"If what you say is true, and the champion learns everything when they win, what about _me_?"

For the first time since she popped out of her rock, Heart seemed to do something ungraceful. She fidgeted, an action quite out of pace with her poised and regal manner, but her hands where clasping each other, and she was twisting them around like Sarah had done many times when she was anxious.

Again, she questioned why the labyrinth would be anxious or nervous. What wasn't she being told?

"This is where we have failed you champion. So overjoyed were we at the prospect of a new ruler, a ruler who could once again bring light back to us, back to the Underground, that we overlooked the Goblin King completely. We had to let you go, for you were far too young. Had we attempted to bestow your body with all our magic and power before you had even reached maturity, it would have shattered you. But we were too focused on you, and failed to notice the interest the Goblin King had taken in you. His days were numbered, he knew that, and he also knew that in little less than three mortal years, you would return, and claim the throne he had held for so many centuries.

"We underestimated him. Because of the time difference he once controlled, he had years more to find a way to crush your power. He spent decades searching and learning, and acquiring all the magic he could find, while all we could do was watch. We were no longer connected to him, and so could do nothing to interfere, and as you were still not ready to connect with us, we could not warn you.

"He had spent his years with us wisely, and had mastered many skills, most of all the control over time. We didn't even see it coming. The moment he found a way to squash your power before it could truly blossom, he sped up time and went to fetch you before we could intervene. On the night of your eighteenth birthday, when you came of age, we thought to lure you back somehow, but he blocked our path. We do not know how, he should not have been so powerful without us, but it would seem he was far more determined than we gave him credit. He brought you into his kingdom, and since we had not had the chance to meld with you, locked us out. Where he learnt to do so, we had no idea, but anything past our barrier; the castle, the surrounding village, everything, we could not touch. We couldn't reach you, we couldn't save you. His presence in your life was getting in the way. It was only thanks to _you_ and your amazing intuition, that he finally let down his guard enough to leave you. He used many spells to keep us out, but whether the connection between us was blocked or not, once he was gone, we could begin sending you dreams. We tried to get you to come to us; we tried so many times, for the truth you had to learn if you were ever to defeat the Goblin King."

So they _couldn't_ reach her, _that_ truth deflated most of Sarah's anger, and if she was being honest with herself, part of her had known all along. Jareth had sure as shit gone through an awful lot of trouble to break her, and it had always been about way more than simply getting her to submit to him. It was about keeping her locked away. Away from the labyrinth and its power, so he could keep his kingdom, and her, all to himself. A flash of memory hit her hard as she recalled the incensed look in his dark eyes when he had caught her in the labyrinth. They couldn't reach out to her than, because of whatever spell he had placed on her to block their power out. But that spell was supposed to be gone now. Oberon and that Alchemist had drained it from her, so why was she still so completely clueless? True, she had been having dreams of the labyrinth, and the urge to come here had been desperate and insatiable, but she still felt up the creek without a paddle.

Gulping down any reluctance, she asked another question she was just dying to know.

"Why didn't he just kill me? If he had blocked you out, and you couldn't protect me, why didn't he just eliminate the risk?"

"He knows what we know." Heart said simply.

"What do you know?" Sarah responded a little frustrated.

"That the labyrinth cannot exist without a ruler. Even though we had existed before, we have become dependent on a magic heart. If he had killed you, both your worlds would have been devastated. The separate dimensions would have collided and destroyed everything for both races. The champion must exist to carry the heart of the labyrinth with them. He couldn't have taken the power back unless he conquered the labyrinth again, and the only way he could have done so, is if he had told you exactly what you are, and let you come to us."

Sarah was once again confounded.

"So he never told me? Why did he think he couldn't beat the labyrinth, just because I was in control of it? He has magic, I don't!"

"That is where you are wrong Sarah. You _do_ have magic. It lives and breathes in your very soul, and is far stronger than anything the Goblin King possesses. You could defeat his darkness, but he would never have been able to conquer your light." Heart tried to convince her, but Sarah had had enough, on the edge and buzzing with energy and raw emotion, she exploded.

"Then why couldn't I fight him!" She screamed, fat angry tears brimming in her bright green eyes.

"I was here! I was here the whole time, and all alone! All alone while he did horrible things to me, and I couldn't fight back! How can _I_ be stronger?!" She cried, tears freely streaming down her face.

Heart sighed sadly.

"Because the Goblin King still has the power of the fae and birth right of the kingdom at his side. It was a part of us, and as long as _he_ is a part of us, he is untouchable."

"What do you mean?" She whispered, quickly wiping at her wet face, a strong sense of foreboding and fear reclaiming her.

"I mean whatever spell he used to bind you to him is still in effect, and nothing can kill our ruler, while they still hold our power in their souls. For as long as we live, nothing will ever be able to kill the Goblin King. Nothing... except you. He made it so. Whatever spell he has placed upon you will be broken only at his death. You're the only one who can kill the Goblin King Sarah, the only one with the power or the right, and this is the devastating truth I must burden you with child, because your heart is pure, as pure as the form that stands before you right now. And far too pure not to suffer under the weight of taking another's life. The Goblin King will hunt you to the ends of the earth Sarah, and the only way to end it, is to end him. In this, I am afraid, you must stand alone."

And with that, the surrounding rock pieces began to spin, spin fast as though they were a thrilling fairground ride. They moved and engulf the figure of the white eyed woman, swarmed around her, and flew back to the split rock, where they fixed themselves back together like jigsaw pieces, once again forming the large rock that now sat on the dirt as though it had never been moved. The wind seemed to give one last wave to scatter any remaining dust, and then the room was still.

* * *

**So... Thought?**


	22. Part Five - Chapter Seven

"I knew it." Oberon's awed voice echoed quietly from behind a stunned Sarah. The dark haired girl barely heard him, for her mind had frozen her in something similar to catatonic shock, while desperately trying to digest the devastating information she had just been burdened with.

Around the girl, all the men who had been previously trapped behind the impenetrable barrier were now freely pacing around the small cove, while Jordan rushed to the girl, confusion and concern lighting his youthful features.

"Sarah? Are you alright?" He asked stupidly, embarrassed the second the words slipped off his tongue. Of course, she wasn't alright. He would stand to reason she was probably feeling anything but right now.

She made no sign that she even heard him, and though she was looking straight at him, her bright green eyes were glazed, as though she didn't even know he was there. He felt an overwhelming urge to reach out to her, wrap her in his arms and comfort her, but somehow knew it was best to give her a little distance for now, even though the absent look in her eyes chilled him to the core.

In reality, Sarah was very present in her own body, could hear and feel everything around her with perfect clarity, but she simply couldn't reply. Her whole being was too busy consuming the brutal truth the essence of the labyrinth had just bestowed upon her.

_I have to kill him? Me?_

Jordan, realising he was to get no response from his bonded at that moment, turned to face the king, who was then hunched over the large rock, looking as though he were intently studying the groove marks that had now returned themselves to the stone. He absently brushed his fingers over the hidden language as Jordan spoke.

"What do you mean 'you knew it'?" The young fae asked. "What do you know?"

Oberon turned to the room with as much detachment in his face as the young Sarah. Though while Sarah looked cold and withdrawn, Oberon seemed thoughtful. Speaking as though he didn't really know what was coming out of his mouth, the king replied. "I have always suspected it, but this just confirms it." He mumbled, as though talking to himself. Every man's focus was on the king, but Jordan was the only one who spoke.

"Confirms what?" Jordan questioned, his tone bordering on insolent.

The king really looked at Jordan then, a strange intensity burning in his aged wide eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was full of determination.

"Don't you see?" Oberon asked, "Jareth is the Unseelie High King!"

A look of bewilderment crossed the faces of many spectators in the clearing, but once more, Jordan's voice was the only one that could be heard.

"What..? That's not what the voice said." He reminded the king, tone thick with confusion, but Oberon continued to speak as though uninterrupted.

"I was right all along. the labyrinth is more powerful than anyone ever suspected. I always knew it wielded a secret power, but I would never have suspected it could be this strong. The centre of the Underground! how could anyone have known? If the labyrinth is truly that powerful, it had to have been entrusted to the most powerful Unseelie there is. It has to be the Goblin King! And now I finally know who it is, I can destroy him, and eliminate the Unseelie race once and for all!"

Jordan blinked. There was a surreal gleam in the king's irises that seemed almost sinister. It was a shadow the young man had never seen light the Seelie High King's eyes before, not once. For the first time, Jordan was a little afraid of him.

Shaking off his concern and fear, Jordan threw a cautionary glance behind him at every other person watching and listening intently. Oberon's words had elicited a mixture of emotions from his men, but it was clear no one else was going to speak out against him. Soft blue eyes lingered on the stunned Sarah for only a moment, before once again returning to regard the king carefully.

Taking a tentative step forward, Jordan tried to rationalise with him.

"Your Majesty, we can't know any of this for certain. Jareth maybe the labyrinth's king, but that doesn't mean he's the king of the entire Unseelie. That's not what the voice said. It only said that the labyrinth had to have a ruler to contain its power, a ruler that now..." His sentence trailed off, as he once again looked at the dark haired girl who had still yet to move an inch.

Oberon shook his head. "The labyrinth is far more than simply powerful Jordan, weren't you paying attention? It's the centre of everything! Every strand of magic that links our worlds together hinges on this place." He threw his arm wildly around the small cove as if to illustrate his point, "Do you honestly believe a fae of mediocre power could rule something so strong and willful? Jareth has to be the Unseelie High King! All the proof comes right back to him!"

"What proof?" Jordan questioned, eyeing Oberon nervously. "Even if your right, the Goblin King isn't the labyrinth's ruler anymore. It's power doesn't..."

"It does not matter if Jareth no longer holds the power of the labyrinth." Oberon interrupted with conviction. "He has the be the strongest to have ever contained that kind of power in the first place. And now he no longer holds the labyrinth in his clutches, destroying him will be that much easier."

Silence met the High King's wild declaration. Jordan looked helplessly around the cove, hoping anyone of the men lingering on the sidelines would see the insanity in Oberon's conviction. When none of the king's guards would meet his eyes, Jordan turned back to the king who was once again staring at the large stone, stroking the groove marks as though it were something precious to him.

Studying his sovereign intently, Jordan took another slow step forward, as though he were attempting to approach a wild animal. For a reason he could not explain, the king's wild conviction scared him. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"Your Majesty," he beseeched, as calmly as he could. The king did not even look at him this time. "You heard what the voice said. remember? You can't just kill Jareth. The labyrinth is still attached to him, and you can't destroy a part of the labyrinth. You heard what it said. The whole world would collapse if we tried. There has to be some other..."

"WHAT OTHER WAY!" Jordan jumped back, startled by the king's violent reaction. Oberon stood blazing before him, towering in his power and fury. His eyes burning with a hatred that had harboured in his heart since the death of his older brother. He had never been so close to his goal of destroying the race that was responsible for snatching his family away. To be told he could not proceed when he had come this far... and by a child... NO! He would not accept it. Not now. Not ever.

"Answer me, boy! What other way could we possibly defeat the Unseelie without destroying the source of all their power? I thought you understood this. You said you agreed that using this spell to defeat the Unseelie was the only way. They are a threat to everything we do. Our peaceful ways of life have been influenced by their evil for long enough. It has to end, and it is going to end now!"

"Excuse me." A voice so quiet whispered from the back of the room. Everyone whipped around to face the young girl who had finally seemed to shake herself back to the present. All fear for the king forgotten, Jordan rushed to the girl's side, getting as close as he could without touching her, he asked, frantic, "Sarah, are you alright?"

Sarah nodded absently, only half listening and not really looking at the young fae anyway. Her gaze was on the king because as detached from her current surrounding as she was, she could still hear everything. And she had heard everything.

"You can't kill him." She told the king calmly, staring right at the wide blue eyes of the Seelie High King. "You know that, don't you?" She persisted, as the king straightened his spine as though readying an argument. But there was no argument, no refute. Sarah knew the voice of the labyrinth spoke the truth. That everything Heart told her, while soul crushing, had been correct. For even if Jareth wasn't the Unseelie High King, Oberon couldn't destroy the Unseelie race as he had always planned to, and now it was only a matter of getting the king to understand that.

Staring at the two young people who stood before him, questioning him, Oberon turned his attention to the mortal girl.

"Sarah, this changes nothing. The spell to destroy the Unseelie race will still work if unleashed upon the high king. The book may not have mentioned anything about this unexpected obstacle, but the spell will still work if used by the right person. there is no reason to wait any longer. We can finish this now." Oberon said with conviction. Everyone in the clearing took his unsaid words to heart and stared at the dark haired girl, but Sarah gazed unwaveringly at the Seelie's ruler. She did not like the look in his eyes, or what he was insinuating, but right at this moment, she had another question.

"What do you mean we can do this now? The spell isn't even finished. Your not making any sense!" She cried, refusing to acknowledge the other, more weighted part of the king's rant. She couldn't focus on that now, she needed time to think.

Oberon threw his hand up in the air in frustration. In his impatience, he let his mouth do the talking.

"The spell is already completed, Sarah. It's last ingredient was added this morning and now it's finally ready to fulfill its purpose. We have no more time to waste on this."

"What do you mean the spell is already completed?" Jordan asked, coming to stand beside his bonded. He had been watching the conversation back and forth in silence, but now his interest was peaked.

Letting out a breath of agitation, Oberon near shoved his hand into his left jacket pocket and produced a small cylinder shaped phial. The phial contained no liquid or solid, but rather, an essence. Staring at it closely, Sarah could see what looked to be smoke coiling like a snake around the glass walls, as though desperately searching for an escape. Her eyes widened in shock. Surely she wasn't seeing what she thought she was seeing.

Oberon held the phial out before him as though it were a holy object. "This is the spell that will eradicate all Unseelie fae. All it needed was the last ingredient; the essence of the High King's land. It's ready, and now all that needs to be done is for the spell to be smashed at the feet of the king it was made to destroy." Oberon raved.

Sarah's eyes started to sting as she gazed, stunned, at the phial that sealed her fate. Now she knew what the king had been doing when she had seen him sneaking around that morning. Had he really suspected Jareth was the Unseelie High King all this time? She couldn't think. She had been so conflicted about the king's plan for weeks now, but had honestly believed she would have to wait years before any kind of decision was made. The way the king had spoken of the spell the first time she had sat opposite him in his office, had led her to believe that the spell was so far away from being finished. She now realised the dragon venom must have been the last ingredient before Oberon finally needed to track down the Unseelie High King's true identity. Why had he kept this a secret? If he had truly suspected Jareth of being his enemy for so long, why hadn't he said something? She was beginning to realise she had placed far to much trust in this king, and right now it was all shattering before her eyes. Beside her, her friend was furious.

"So this is why you agreed to bring her here so easily. You planned this from the start, didn't you! You didn't do any of this for her! You did this to satisfy your own vendetta..!"

"I have been waiting centuries to bring justice to my family!" Oberon interrupted with a snarl, "The Unseelie race will fall at my hand, and nothing and no one will stop me!"

"But you're forgetting something," Jordan said triumphantly. Sarah stared at him while Oberon glowered, awaiting the boy's words. "You can't be the one to end this. The labyrinth said that only its champion could kill Jareth, and that's not you!"

Jordan spoke the words with such confidence, ignoring the anxiety bubbling in his stomach when he thought about who that burden truly fell to. But he couldn't this about that now. Right now, his only objective was to make the king see reason. What Oberon was failing to take into account, was that if he went head to head with Jareth, he would surely lose, and as frustrated as the boy was in that moment, he did not wish to see the king dead.

He was very confused, therefore, when the look of determination never left the High King's face. Oberon clutched at the precious phial and spoke softly.

"I said it would all end soon, and it will."

Sarah's head snapped up at his words, her glistening eyes widening almost comically as she absorbed what the king had just insinuated.

"NO! You can't make me!" She screamed. "Your Majesty, please listen to yourself! You're asking me to kill hundreds, possibly thousands of people! I can't!"

The king looked at her impatiently, as though he were dealing with a petulant child.

"So it was alright as long as someone else performed the deed, but now you know it is you who must follow through to save this world, you refuse?"

Sarah flinched as though his words had physically bit her. He was right, in a way. When his plan had first been divulged she had still held so much anger towards the Goblin King for everything he had done, that the idea of his death left her completely unfazed, even if it meant hundreds of others had to die, but now...

To be the one to pull that trigger. To be the one to end the lives of hundreds of people she didn't even know? Her lip quivered, her whole body trembled. No, she couldn't.

"O-O-Oberon..." She stammered, trying to force her words out before her panic completely consumed her. "Why do you keep acting like destroying every single Unseelie fae will rid this world of evil. It won't, and I think we both know that." She implored. "Seelie fae aren't perfect. Those two fae who took me from your castle with the intention of selling me to the Goblin King, weren't they Seelie? And the story you told us, about all those king's who killed people like us, because their loyalty couldn't be unwavering to them, isn't _that_ wrong? Wasn't _that_ bad? "Sarah stammered, grasping at every single slither of information she could recall to fight her case with. Casting a desperate glance behind her, her eyes landed on her saviour. "And Jordan. What about him? He has Unseelie blood, but he's not evil. He's not bad. He's not anything like them, but you risk his life with this spell and you act like you don't even care. You can't stand there and tell me that all Unseelie fae are beyond redemption while Seelie does horrible things that can be forgiven."

Oberon didn't look convinced, despite the desperate plea in Sarah's voice, his brain was only focused on one thing. Dark shadows began to dance around the king's face, as though illuminating the darkness that had eaten at the supposedly perfect king since his youth. Taking a small step towards Sarah, Oberon dismissed Jordan's protective stance and focused solely on the girl who he knew held the key to everything.

"You're right Sarah, much like the human race, not all fae are good. My own father could be harsh and cruel at times, but he had light in him as well. There will always be some dark and some light in us, but the Unseelie are not like that! Their evil, all of them, and simply can't be let alone to destroy this world as they tried to do so many years ago!"

Sarah tried to interrupt, but Oberon ploughed on mercilessly.

"I will not stand aside and allow another war to rip this world apart. All Seelie fae depend on me to keep them safe, and this is the only way. I would do it if I possessed the ability, believe me, I was as shocked as you upon discovering that I could not end this war on my own, but this fact still changes nothing. This threat must be put to an end, and trust that I am truly sorry that it must begin and end with you."

Sarah locked gazes with the king, who she was shocked to see, was staring through her. His eyes blazing in a way that was all too familiar to Sarah. That look had sent shivers down her spine more times than she could count. That look had made her cower. The look that made her feel like an object. A trophy to be won. She had seen it blazing in the eyes of another king many times before. But this king, _this_ king she thought she could trust.

Tears blazed in her dewy eyes as the truth of the king's statement pounded in her head. And in her heart. She had been completely on board with the king's plan to eliminate all Unseelie fae if it meant finally being free of the terrible chains that had bound her to the Goblin King all this time. But now, with the truth of the matter before her, the terrible truth that she would have to be the one to deal the final blow... it stomped her. The hatred that had built since the beginning of her captivity was the one thing that had kept her going throughout it all. She had lost her hope, lost her faith, lost her conviction and her spirit and her defiant belief that she would find a way to escape him. He had ripped it from her piece by piece until all that was left was an empty shell. A shell that thanked him for punishments and smiled through torture. She had known, beyond truth, that she could never get away from him, that she would always be his. So with faith and hope crushed, anger was all that was left. She had sworn to kill him more times to count, yet now that _that_ was the only option... she... she...

She couldn't breathe.

"I... I can't. I..." Cheeks soaked with tears and heart pounding so hard she couldn't understand her own feet, she turned and fled the cove.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

"Sarah! Sarah wait!"

A voice behind her yelled, but she didn't stop. It never occurred to her how reckless it was to run from the party of guards brought to protect her. It never crossed her mind how foolish it was to flee into enemy territory, her only thought was to get _away_.

"Sarah!" The desperate voice yelled again, but through the own vicious pounding in her head, Sarah couldn't even acknowledge who it was chasing after her. Running blindly with tears blurring her sight, she didn't care in which direction she was going. The only thing that registered in her tired, desperate mind was to find some place to be alone.

So it really should have come as no surprise when she felt a hand land on her shoulder.

She stopped running almost at once, spinning to face the intruder of her breakdown. Jordan jumped back at the suddenness of her reaction, but before he could pant out a single word, Sarah unleashed.

"I'm weak! I can't do this. You were right, I'm such a hypocrite! It was okay to come here and put everyone lives at risk because I knew there was a chance that he'd show. You were right. I want him to die. I've never wanted anything more in my entire life! But to actually be the one to physically _do_ it? To actually take another person's life? The thought makes me sick! I'm weak! I've never been anything else."

Jordan watched, helpless, as his bonded collapsed to the floor and wept like he had never seen her weep before. Every muscle in his body was screaming at him to go and comfort her. To hold her in his arms and take away her fear and pain, but he knew that no matter what he did, he would be useless to her right now, and the feeling left him just as broken as the weeping girl on the floor of the labyrinth's forest.

How foolish he had been, to fall into this trap the high king had set. He had allowed Oberon to make a pawn out of him, and in doing so, had only managed to screw things up even more.

He had let Oberon brainwash him into believing his crusade to wipe the whole Unseelie off the map. when Oberon had first reached out to him he was just a scared young boy trying to appease his father. He had done some truly despicable things to convince his father he was more like him than his poor deceased Seelie mother. He had been living a lie, a suffocating, terrifying lie, and had therefore been so relieved when he had received Oberon's first secret letter.

He had believed it an honour. An honour to be trusted by the king and to serve as one of his subjects. In his mind, Jordan had made him this grand, perfect being, and it was only until Sarah came along and compromised his loyalty that he had started to question.

Oberon had claimed he had no idea who the real Unseelie High King was, but he had lied. He had suspected Jareth of being the high king all along, and had played on both his hate for his father and on Sarah's curiosity to get himself through this kingdom safely. He hadn't even batted an eye when he realised that only Sarah could do the deed. He knew Sarah well enough by now to know that taking hundreds of lives would kill her. She wasn't even attempting to justify it in her mind as she had been with Jareth and the possibility of his death. she had simply said, 'no'.

He looked at her small quaking form helplessly. Any stranger outside looking in might view weakness; he saw enormous strength in her. It would be so easy to justify killing the Unseelie in her head, for few had been hurt by them like she had. It would be easy for her to think exactly like Oberon, but she didn't. She saw the truth he was only now starting to realise himself. That having a grudge against a bare few didn't justify the extermination of the whole race. He himself hated his father down to the core, mostly for what the man had done to his poor undeserving mother. But that didn't mean that all Unseelie had to be evil, just like all Seelie weren't pure and innocent. He was beginning to see something hugely wrong with the picture of the world he had created in his head and it was all thanks to her.

"You're not weak." He told her with conviction.

Sarah didn't believe him at all.

For so long she had clung to her hate, to her anger. Jareth had stripped her of everything else. All her hope, all her will, all her freedom. He had beaten it out of her one by one until all that was left was something broken.

But she hadn't broken.

And that - she had finally come to realise - was precisely the problem.

She hadn't broken to his will, but she had put on one fine show. A smile here, a kiss there, acting proud and happy to lay at his feet like some kind of dog. He hadn't beaten that behaviour into her, she had chose it. She had chosen it because acting like a submissive little bitch was worth it if she didn't have to feel the sting of his whip. And that was all it ever was. She could – and had – lied to herself and told herself she had done it all to protect Toby, but as disgusting as the admission made her feel, she feared she had used him as an excuse.

She wasn't weak if she submitted to save her brother right?

She wasn't a whore if she faked it to protect him, right?

It had all been lies, a pretty web she had weaved to protect herself from the reality and she knew exactly what she had been doing. She traded her body, mind and soul for a gilded cage and pretty things.

She could have kept fighting back, because she was sure she knew deep down that he would never have truly killed Toby, because if he had he would have demolished the only weapon against her he had ever possessed. If she had only been stronger, she could have learnt the truth of the labyrinth's power a long time ago. If she hadn't of stopped at only one failed escape, she could have found her own power, instead of hiding behind everyone else and letting her battles be fought for her.

And now there was no choice of that anymore.

It was _her_ battle now.

One she was too terrified to fight.

She was such a coward.

"I can't do it." She whispered into the silence. Jordan, who had been staring at the tangled mess of hair covering her face intently, perked up at her quiet words.

"Do what?" He replied, more out of his need to bring her back to him than his curiosity for her words. He already had a pretty good idea what she meant.

"He... wants me... to..." She whispered woefully, shaking her head and burying her face into her knees.

"Who? Oberon?" Jordan asked.

She nodded into her knees.

Jordan stepped closer to her and squatted on the forest floor to try and trap her eyes in his.

"Sarah?" He nervously tried to draw her attention to him, hoping to catch the emotion in her eyes.

Slowly, excruciatingly so, she raised her head up to his level. Slowly, so as not to startle her, he reached forwards and moved a small clump of dark hair out of the way of her shimmering green eyes. Her tears struck a physical cord with him, but he pushed the pain of her pain away. She needed him right now.

"I can't do it Jordan. I just can't. I've been telling myself for months that if I had the ability I'd do it in a heartbeat, and now that I do, I can't... I just..." She panted, her chest rising heavily, tears still readily streaming down her damp red cheeks, her voice breaking breathlessly in the midst of her panic.

"Sarah breathe." He told her gently, placing his hand on her shoulder to steady her, shocked but relieved when she didn't cringe or try to pull away.

"Why did I think I could do this Jordan?" She whispered sorrowfully, staring right at his comforting brown eyes, trying to find some kind of answer there.

"Sarah," Jordan repeated, hoping to ground her, for she looked so drawn into herself. He was looking right at him, but Jordan feared what would happen if he couldn't get her to listen.

"What Oberon is expecting you to do is... it's just wrong. I understand what you were trying to tell me a few nights ago. We were both a little delusional weren't we, thinking there was nothing wrong with the king's plan to exterminate all Unseelie fae as long as all we had to do was sit back and watch? But I understand now. What you were trying to tell me. It's not right to take all our anger out on hundreds of people we've never even met, because a few in the group have wronged us. I think we both kind of fell into that trap for awhile, didn't we?" He asked forlorn, with the barest hint of a smile.

Sarah sniffed, but nodded sadly. She understood what he was trying to do, placing himself in the same boat so she didn't feel like she was sinking alone, and it did help a little. It was nice, in a strange way, to know she hadn't been the only disillusioned one, but there were a few things that they just couldn't share.

"It's not just that," she murmured, trailing her sleeved arm across her face rather unsophisticated, attempting to wipe away all evidence of her breakdown. "It was all I used to think about Jordan, the one thing that kept me going."

Jordan's brow furrowed at her words, and his body froze completely as her pale cold hand slowly reached out to touch his face. He couldn't tell what she was thinking other than her obvious despair, but her actions were so strange he almost missed the tenderness of it.

"I never saw you coming Jordan, not once. I never thought that I would be saved. I never thought that anyone would care enough about me to stand up to him. No one had ever helped me. They all saw what was happening, and no one ever did anything. They were all too afraid. But you... not you. You didn't even know me but you risked your own life to free me. Even when I ran from you and hid from you, you didn't give up on me, and that was something I had never thought possible." She told him wetly, staring into those thoughtful brown eyes with such a pitifully sad expression it confounded him.

"Sarah... what are you..?" He began, bemused as to where she was taking this, but all too soon she drew her hand away, wrapping it around her knees as she squeezed into herself, huddled on the forest floor.

"I never thought anyone would save me Jordan. I had accepted my fate long before you even showed up. Accepted that all I would ever be for the rest of my life was a beaten down slave girl. That the only thing I'd ever be good for was... was..." She shook her head in despair, another tear slowly journeying down her stained face.

"Sarah, your not..." Jordan began to defend her, but she held up her hand in a gesture for him to stop. This was difficult to say, but she believed, wholeheartedly, that if anyone were to understand, it would be him.

"He convinced me Jordan, convinced me that for the rest of my life, I'd be serving in a bed of a man that I hated. And so hatred was the only thing I really had to hold on to. You have no idea how many days, how many times a day I wished him dead. Every night I prayed for it; the end of my torment. I wanted to be the one to do it then. Every night I served him I wished I had the ability to kill him because if anyone deserved to have that honour it was me! And now? Now I know that not only do I have the power to kill him, but I'm the only one that can? All I can think now is, 'how can I?' how can I take another person's life and live the rest of mine knowing what the price of my freedom was. Even if Oberon is wrong and the spell will only kill him, that's a life on my hands. And I feel so pathetic now, because a part of me still feels like he deserves it, and another part of me keeps thinking, that if I were the one to do it, how would I be any better than him?"

"You're nothing like him!" Jordan snapped quickly. The brute strength in his retort forced Sarah back, her arms flying backwards to catch her and her heart racing wildly at the anger in the boys face. She had never seen that look in his eyes before. He was normally so sweet tempered and gentle, but now he looked fierce. He jumped up, almost as though he were electrocuted, and looked down at her in a way that made her shrink.

He was furious.

"Gods damn it, Sarah, when are you going to understand! You think all these pity parties you throw yourself are going to make you stronger? Why can't you get it through your stubborn head?"

He shouted at her, and she was so in awe by his rage, that she couldn't summon a syllable in response. It didn't matter, for Jordan had no intention of letting her answer him. He relentlessly ploughed on, pacing the forest floor, never moving his gaze from her fearful one.

"You _are_ a slave! But not because he made you one! Not because he beat you, or because he forced you to do things you didn't want to do, those things don't make you a slave! It's you! You believed that you'd never be free, and then you believed that you didn't deserve the freedom that you once had, and now you have freedom, but you're too afraid to fight for it. You are still letting him control you! You let him in here!" He raved, swooping down upon her so suddenly her whole body froze as his fingers softly grazed the skin of her forehead. He tapped on her head and she stared up into his eyes, winded at the anger and pride that blended on his youthful features. And then the anger melted into something wistful, his full plump lips turned into a beautiful frown as he grazed his hand down her cheek and neck, moving down her body until his hand was flat over her chest.

"But what you don't get is the thing that made you strong, was that you never let him in here." He whispered to her meaningfully. Her eyes dropped and then widened, bouncing back to his when she realised what he was doing. His hand was resting over her heart.

"What are you..?" She stuttered, wanting to know exactly where he thought he was going with this.

"You never gave him your heart." He explained, suddenly grabbing both of her hands and hoisting her to her feet so fast she felt dizzy for a moment. But it soon passed in the face of this boy, this man, who continued to enrapture her with his words.

"You told me that you made him believe it. That you convinced him that you loved him, and you told me you did it to survive, but I don't think so. You heard what the labyrinth said. It could never have gotten to you if the Goblin King hadn't let his guard down. I could never have gotten to you if he hadn't let his guard down and you made him do it. You; his prisoner. When you thought you had no power, no fight left, no right to your own body, you fought back in the one way that was sure to bring him to his knees, without any help or knowledge of magic or anything! It was all you sweetheart. All of it was all on you." He told her with conviction.

Sarah was humming in place, practically vibrating as she absorbed his words. She felt like she had been shifting between strength and weakness since the moment she met him, but now more than ever all of those emotions were attacking her from all sides. A beaten down, hopeless part of her mind clung to the breath of weakness, because weakness was easy. It was easy to be weak and give up and not try to live a better life. But another part of her, a part she had thought dormant for so long, a part awoken only by the barest glimpse of his face as she had danced before the king and the court members, clung to his words with a vital desperation. He was looking at her like he saw right through her. The real her. Past the girl who had been punishing herself for so long, straight into the heart that realised how much it wanted to fight back.

He took a step towards her, and under her intense gaze produced something from his back pocket that made her eyes bulge. In his left hand sat the phial with the spell to end everything, and Sarah stared at it in shock as Jordan held it out towards her.

"I took it from Oberon before I came after you, because I figured, if anyone deserves to make this decision, it's you."

Then with his other hand, he reached out to once again brush away the delicate tears she hadn't known she'd shed.

"You are not weak Sarah Williams." He whispered into her ear, staring deeply into her soul. "You have never been, and you never will be. If you were, you would take this phial from me right now and use it to end your suffering. But you're better than that. You never gave your heart to him, and I cannot tell you how relieved I am that you did not surrender it to someone so unworthy. You're stronger than him, stronger than all of us. And you don't need some magic ancient power or a centuries old king to tell you that. All you need is right _here_," He pressed his hand back to her heart, " And you could defeat any enemy. You could take on an army with that heart Sarah Williams, and you could conquer anyone you met. And I really should know, because you have completely conquered me." He whispered, his face mere fractions from hers. She stared into his soulful eyes; her blood was pounding in her ears, her body vibrating in place and her heart sung with a sudden longing that she never ever felt before. A longing for him to close that space between them and show her exactly what it was like to be kissed by someone who really, truly, loved her.

And then that one single, glorious moment was shattered when a cold, condescending, all to familiar voice sounded clear as a death toll through the silent forest.

"Well, if that is so, perhaps we shall see how the two of you fair against my army."


End file.
